The controversial Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. T-shirts that Kendall Jenner released and recalled earlier this year continue to bring legal troubles for the reality television star-turned-model.
After being sued by another photographer over a separate Tupac photo, Kendall’s company is now being sued by Al Pereira, who took an iconic picture of ‘Pac, Big, and Redman that was used on one of Jenner’s designs.
Pereira claims that Jenner had no right to take the image and put it on a T-shirt with her face superimposed on top of it, according to TMZ. Jenner’s version also crops Redman out of the photo, which was taken at New York City’s The Palladium on July 23, 1993.
The shirts have been a constant source of controversy. Biggie’s mother, Voletta Wallace, blasted Kendall and Kylie back in June, when they were first revealed to the public. “I am not sure who told @kyliejenner and @kendalljenner that they had the right to do this,” she wrote at the time. “The disrespect of these girls to not even reach out to me or anyone connected to the estate baffles me. I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the deaths of 2pac and my Son Christopher to sell a t-shirt. This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!”
The “limited edition” tees, priced at $125 apiece, were pulled from digital shelves shortly after they were unveiled. “These designs were not well thought out and we deeply apologize to anyone that has been upset and/or offended, especially to the families of the artists,” Kylie and Kendall said in a joint statement. “We are huge fans of their music and it was not our intention to disrespect these cultural icons in anyway. The tee shirts have been pulled from retail and all images have been removed. We will use this as an opportunity to learn from these mistakes and again, we are very sorry.”
