Selena Gomez is taking legal action against a mobile fashion app who is profiting from
her without her permission, and she may just get a really sweet pay-day!
What’s up guys, it’s Emile Ennis Jr. back here with Clevver News bringing you all the
news updates from my Clevver home studio, and let’s get one thing straight: Selena
Gomez might be a reigning style icon, but she’s definitely not just any face to market
for a little extra cash.
Trust me, I totally get it -- Selena’s fashion game is top notch and there’s no doubt about
it.
Ya’ll can slap her photos on your vision board, pin her outfit of the days to your
Pinterest page, but when it comes to making a profit off of her for a video game centered
around fashion AND without her consent, we’re gonna have a problem.
We’re gonna get into all the legal talk here in a second, but before we do, don’t
forget to subscribe to Clevver News and ring that bell to keep up with all the latest breaking
news updates.
Alright, so according to court documents obtained by E! News, Selena is involved in a bit of
a legal scuffle with the software and technology firms who created the app Clothing Forever
-- Styling Game, claiming that she never gave them permission for the creators to “use
her name, image or likeness in any regard.”
The lawsuit was made against the company Tuesday as Selena is seeking damages, a share of the
profits and for them to put a complete stop to using her likeness as it threatens her
reputation since it is a “bug-riddled” app that charges users.
All in all Selena is suing the mobile-game app for 10 million dollars!
After her legal team pointed out a bad review from a user, Selena’s lawyer Alex Weingarten
of Venable LLP told E! News QUOTE, “Selena Gomez's career as a model, actress, musician,
and entrepreneur has made Selena a household name.
Forgame, Mutanbox and these other fly-by-night video game developers have attempted to profit
off of Selena's signature look by misappropriating her likeness and inviting players to style
Selena without her consent.
Selena is a style icon.
This is an egregious violation of Selena's rights, which we will litigate vigorously
to vindicate.”
Basically her legal team AINT MESSIN’ AROUND and will do anything and everything to get
Selena’s face off of this game!
The visuals for the game use Selena’s 2015 cover shoot for Flare Magazine and as you
can see, the resemblance is pretty spot on, using every detail from her black leather
mini dress to her accessories.
The photo is also the first screenshot fans see on the app’s Apple Store listing to
promote the game.
Users can find the game available for download on iPhone and iPad, and it also references
many other similar celebrity figures.
It even references the celebrities in its description, which reads, “Interact with
the most beautiful models and celebrities; the likes of Kardashian, Gigi, Beyonce, Taylor,
and more will be dropping by and asking for YOUR fashion advice!”
Many of the characters look almost identical to Taylor Swift, Gigi and Bella Hadid, David
and Victoria Beckham, Justin Bieber, The Weeknd and Kendall Jenner as seen in screenshots
for the game as well as the game’s Instagram account.
The game gives users the option to “date sexy hunks like Leo, Justin, Zac or Messi”
annnnd you can even DUMP said sexy hunks.
As you can easily tell, the profile photo for the game in the App store and on social
media features characters who look almost exactly like Kendall and Gigi, and although
the game alleges to be ‘free’, users tend to easily get sucked in to paying for in-game
purchases that will enhance their experience and get them further, which range from $0.99
to $99.99.
The game was developed two years ago, and considering the fact that they neglected to
ask Selena for consent, I’m actually mind blown that this game has lasted as long as
it has.
But I’m curious to hear your thoughts on the creators using all these celebrities -- is
it only a matter of time until other celebs catch on and it gets shut down?
Be sure to chime in down here in the comments, but if some of these game reviews are any
indication, I’m thinking the sun will soon be setting on ‘Clothing Forever.’
One user posted this review on the app that read QUOTE, “Your character and all the
celebs have such bad graphics and the celebs look NOTHING like how they look in the pictures
when you download the game (except Kendall).
Maybe I quit before giving the game a real chance but it was so boring that I couldn’t
keep on.
The cringe is real.”
Another user wrote, “It’s like no other game I’ve ever played… really quite incredible
how grimy they are.
My friends and I spend a lot of money on this game, which will soon come to an end, and
they treat us like dog poo.”
So it’s really no wonder why Selena wants OUT of every aspect of this damaging game,
but unfortunately, this isn’t the first time a celeb has been forced to take legal
action against a video game company for using their image without consent.
Some other fun facts about celebs getting their image stolen for video games go as follows!
Lindsay Lohan filed a lawsuit against Rockstar Games and Take Two-Interactive for basing
a Grand Theft Auto 5 character on her in which she lost.
Fresh Prince of Bel Air actor Alfonso Ribeiro sued Fortnite back in 2018 for plagiarising
his signature ‘Carlton Dance’ as one of the character’s moves throughout the game
and shortly withdrew his suit in 2019.
It seems like Selena has plenty to go off of when it actually comes time to fight for
the rights to HER OWN SELF in this unfortunate case and of course we’ll always have her
back!
But we’re also breaking down why Demi claims her and Selena aren’t friends, which you
can click to watch right over here.
I'm Emile Ennis Jr. with Clevver News, bye guys!