Award-winning singer and actress turned fashion designer and makeup mogul Rihanna is reported to have sued her dad for exploiting her name and projecting a bad image for her fast-growing business brand.
According to the Guardian, Rihanna has filed a lawsuit against her father, Ronald Fenty, in a dispute over the use of the Fenty name by their respective companies. The lawsuit states that Fenty and another man “have egregiously and fraudulently misrepresented to third parties and the public that their company is affiliated with Rihanna, and has the authority to act on her behalf.”
It says Fenty has never “been authorised to use her name, intellectual property or publicity rights”. The suit claims cease-and-desist notices have been sent to Fenty but have been ignored.
BBC reports that Ronald Fenty established Fenty Entertainment in 2017 in California with business partner Moses Perkins. Fenty Entertainment was started by Mr Fenty with the aim of “developing original television programmes, motion pictures, live concerts, and record producing as well as talent”.
In 2018, Fenty Entertainment had a press release on its website announcing that the agency was started with Rihanna but the poster has since been removed. In addition, the suit claims that Fenty Entertainment attempted to book a 15-date Rihanna tour in South America, plus concerts in Los Angeles and Las Vegas for close to 15 million dollars without her permission.
Rihanna has not been shy to speak about her on and off again relationship with her father who she saw beat her mother on several occasions and come home drunk. In an interview with ABC a few years ago, Rihanna explained how she would try to get between them to break up a fight and even broke a glass bottle once “so they would hear something else”.
Despite the rather shaky relationship she had with her father in her younger years, Rihanna has made effort to have a relationship with her father but it seems Ronald Fenty has crossed the line.
After making her name a brand, Rihanna is doing all that she can to protect her image and even her father will not come in her way.
The news comes in 4 days after Rihanna’s make up line released new products and after several warnings and reminders that Mr Ronald Fenty has no right to use her registered Fenty mark or act as her representative in any way.
This comes as no surprise as Rihanna is known in the industry to take her work very seriously. The current court case could definitely cause more tensions between the already tensed father-daughter relationship the two share.
