Rihanna takes father to court

Rihanna, the famous Barbadian singer, songwriter, and actress, has taken her father to court in the US for allegedly milking her name in order to advance his entertainment business. The pop icon has claimed that her father, Ronald Fenty and his business partner have misled the public into believing that she is associated with their firm, Fenty Entertainment.

In accordance with the lawsuit, their conduct has adversely impacted her Fenty Beauty cosmetics brand and she has consequently asked the court to interdict the firm from employing the Fenty name. Furthermore, the lawsuit states that Rihanna is the owner of trade marks in the US for the Fenty name and has previously furnished ‘cease and desist’ requests to the defendants who ‘continue to this date to use their misrepresentations for their commercial advantage and to mislead the public’. It goes on to propound that ‘[t]his fraudulent conduct harms not only plaintiffs but the public at large and requires judicial intervention’.

Rihanna has vocalised her difficult relationship with Mr Fenty who started the firm in California in 2017, alongside his business partner Moses Perkins. Apparently, a press release that was posted on the firm’s website until ‘at least October 2018’, reported the launch of the firm ‘with’ Rihanna despite her having no involvement in this regard. Moreover, the complaint states that Fenty Entertainment has in the past, entered into negotiations on Rihanna’s behalf for 15 musical performances in Latin America without seeking the artist’s authorisation. The lawsuit emphasises that ‘[a]lthough Mr Fenty is Rihanna’s father, he does not presently, nor has he ever, had the authority to act on Rihanna’s behalf or had the right to use her Fenty mark, to exploit the goodwill of her Fenty brands or to solicit business on her behalf’.