She is accused of copyright infringement by a Las Vegas artist.
A Las Vegas artist named Vladimir Kush has filed a lawsuit against Ariana Grande citing copyright infringement. According to Kush, the singer’s “god is a woman” music video includes visuals that were allegedly ripped off from his work. The image in question, which appears around the 1-minute mark of the clip, features a woman’s silhouette dancing in a candle’s flame. The lawsuit says the scene is a replica of Kush’s art.
The paintings referred to in the legal documents were created and copyrighted in 1999 and 2000. Vladimir Kush’s complaint aims to have the music video removed from all platforms. The artist is also seeking unspecified damages. Ariana’s video has already attracted close to 200 million streams since its upload in July 2018.
Ariana Grande-Butera is listed as the suit’s defendant along with Universal Music Group. The music video’s director, producer, and production company are listed as well.
Grande’s lawyer, Susan Gutierrez, declined the folks over at TIME’s request for comment. In 2016, Gutierrez represented the pop star in a copyright infringement case that was settled the following year. In 2012, Vladimir Kush’s lawyer, Mark Tratos, represented silent magician Teller, of Penn & Teller, in a copyright case that found a Dutch entertainer guilty of stealing the magician’s work and selling it online. Peep the image in question below. What do you guys think?
