Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner are not content to merely solve racism with Pepsi and steal African-American artists’ designs for their clothing line. Now they’re literally stealing images of famous African-American rap artists and putting their own Jenner-branded stink on them. For real. The Kendall + Kylie clothing brand has a new line of vintage-style t-shirts for “bands” and rap artists. Biggie and Tupac’s images are on the t-shirts, and then Kylie and Kendall stamped those iconic images with their own Warhol-esque vibe:
Why would Kendall and Kylie Jenner think they could just plaster their faces and initials over Biggie and Pac? pic.twitter.com/Mh0yZWKzxw
— Michael Arceneaux (@youngsinick) June 29, 2017
Of course it’s culture-vulturing and of course it’s completely inappropriate and yet par for the course for the Kardashian-Jenners. Beyond that, however, I have to ask: how is it that NO ONE in their camp even bothered to wonder “hey, do we have the rights or the licensing to use these copyrighted images?” Obviously, as soon as the t-shirts went on sale online, everyone was outraged and the t-shirts were pulled from the online store. Biggie’s mom threatened to sue, and she called them out in an Instagram:
As I said, Kendall and Kylie did pull the images from their online store, but before they did that, the t-shirts were already selling, and selling fast (because 2017 is a dumpster fire). No one knows if those t-shirts will eventually see the light of day. But Kendall did take to Twitter to apologize. I’m shocked that she didn’t offer anyone a Pepsi to make it all better.
— Kendall (@KendallJenner) June 29, 2017
“These designs were not well thought out” is one of the most hilarious understatements of the year. Here’s another thing I don’t get: if you are truly a fan of Pac or Biggie, why would you even DARE to think, “Hey, those iconic images of Pac and Biggie would be so much better if an image of my ass was imprinted on top of them?”
Photos courtesy of WENN, Instagram, Kendall + Kylie’s clothing label.
I can’t stand those two.
What amazes me is not their lack of perception, the dumbness, the blatant theft, is the fact that people buy a t-shirt with their faces on it!
Yes!!!!!!! Who would be wearing these shirts! I agree 100%…like, who is buying all their stuff. Are girls going to wear a shirt with these two on their? Or are guys wearing them? Who are these people?! Mind blowing! And the fact they thought this was alright is just out of my realm of understanding
This is deliberate, the KK clan did not grow to a million dollar business and not understand basic licensing and trademarks. It was the same with Kim’s so called ” tanned” makeup pics .Kris thier manager knows better
These people have been engaging in ” outrage marketing ” for a while now do something outrageous or offensive rile up people especially black twitter , feign ignorance make some weak a$$ apology keep current.
Rinse. Recycle. Repeat
Is Kendall hitting up Kylie’s surgeon? In the last two picks she looks sooooo much like Kylie’s plastic face!
I thought it was Kylie in the last picture too. I kept going back and forth with the other pic trying to be sure.
Same thoughts here … the lips have been done and so have the cheeks. I’ve just about had it with this whole family.
Aaah, thanks, Chetta. I’ve been wanting to ask about the cheeks. The left one sticks out like dogs balls. For a while there, Kendall was looking so much like her mother, but in the last few months, she seems to have achieved KylieFace. These two are obnoxious on so many levels.
They prove, almost daily, that you can’t cure stupid.
These girls have finallllllly done the one thing that has destroyed their brand. It is one thing to rip-off relatively unknown people and reappropriate other’s talents as your own, but it takes on added levels of notoriety when you do so with iconic figures in history/music, who are well-known. WE SEE YOU B*TCHES. They probably made a quick buck off this stuff and kids in other countries bought up the stock of this garbage before they took it down. That is what I want to know. Yeah, they did the “right” thing by taking it down, but what about all those shirts that have sold out? Was this a quick money grab for profit that they still collect on in the end?
Two Words: Stupid Bitches.
What’s next? Rosa Parks lip gloss? I swear I can’t with this shit,
OMG yes. Can they just go away already?
For a family that trademarks everything they really thought they could use Biggie’s and 2Pac’s images? They learned very quickly Voletta is not the one.
I don’t for a minute believe they didn’t know better. @blogdis above mentioned outrage marketing and I think she’s right. I’d like to know who’s idea this was. You’d think Kim would know better at least.
I’m surprised they didn’t do a “What would
Martin Luther King do?” Bracelets.
I can’t stand this family. As a black woman
I’m offended by their culture appropriation. These idiots have no idea what Tupac
and Biggie stood for. They don’t care,
they just thinks it makes them look cool.
During the Pepsi fallout someone here posted something about how their brand now intentionally courts black outrage because it keeps them relevant and black outrage in Trumps America is quickly whitesplained away anyway. I don’t know if I captured that correctly but hopefully that poster will come along and explain it better.
It’s about the only real attention Kendall seems to get anymore, isn’t it? For stupid ads and products and festivals. She knows it will never actually take her down so she has no reason to stop.
yup. Any click is a good click, right? And here we are….clicking. I hate myself.
I was just thinking this, and I think it’s a good point.
Because they *know*, they’ve *got to know* there’s going to be outrage right?? everything they do blows up like crazy, and Tupac and Biggie are two of the biggest musical and African American icons. Even if these b*tches are too dumb to think about it, what about all the people around them, lawyers and such? COME ON.
@Nyawira I don’t think they have this kind of brains, they just believe they are black cause they know Kanye and wearing those t-shirts make them cool. They did wore a band t-shirt with a Confederate flag on it, they just don’t give a tought or a damn.
Kendall and Kylie( with help from Kris) knew exactly what they were doing and the resulting backlash. They all knew it would get the public’s attention and also more publicity for the Kardashian/Jenner family. Bad publicity is good publicity in Kris’s $$eyes. They are truly getting desperate to stay relevant. Pathetic
Absolutely CORRECT!!! They probably have meetings to disgust what is the next move to outrage and keep us in the news in terms of black culture. smh
“They probably have meetings to disgust ”
I like this typo very much. 🙂
“Typo Of The Day”! 🏆
yep. they (at least the people around them) cannot be that oblivious.
haha my bad
“how is it that NO ONE in their camp even bothered to wonder “hey, do we have the rights or the licensing to use these copyrighted images?””
yeah its not like you need a law degree to understand you cant just use otherpeoples faces or their band logos (they had one with The Doors, too) to sell your stuff. Seriously. That was on purpose. They are vapid and stupid but no one is that stupid.
I completely agree with you. No one is that stupid.
They Kardashian empire is built on MOMAGER Kris orchestrating and profittinh from the signing off of Kim’s IMAGE in a c-lister’s homemade golden shower sex tape and any subsequential BRANDING! They have and will slap their NAME & IMAGE on anything for over a decade, but NOW PMK & her court of demons are ignorant to lisencing laws?!?
Yeah…OK…
TMZ is reporting that the Doors camp are following through with their lawsuit against the Jenner girls. They say the apology is useless and the damage has been done. They are going after them for compensation.
WTAF. Just so far beyond disrespectful and tasteless that it’s actually painful to look at. Perfect response by Ms. Wallace. These people are clueless and have no shame.
This just confirms to me that they look at nothing they rubber stamp…even that Pepsi commercial. Kendall just showed up that day. If they are aware, they are so beyond tone deaf…with all the black men and women they surround themselves with for an image.
Kendall’s face is so jacked up in that last picture.
This as a whole new low for these people
She looks more and more like Kylie with every procedure, it’s creating a weird homogenized Jenner look.
Whoa… I didn’t even realize that wasn’t Kylie. I totally thought that was until I went to look after reading your post. Why do they all have to change their faces so much?
Omg i had to double take on those last photos!!! Kendall, stop!!!
Oh, geez, I thought that was Kylie
I never realized how much Kendall looks like Kris until seeing that last photo. Her face is as jacked up as her mother’s
I thought it was Kylie and then spent longer than I would like to admit looking at it to see if they were wearing the same outfit
Eww she’s destroying her face. She was really pretty before, but I think she’s getting fillers and she’s only 22! Wtf. I’m 24 and I would never think about putting that sht in my face at this age.
All this point, all the KarJenners (with the exception of maybe Kourtney) all look the same, including Caitlyn.
You know what the issue is.these girls have such huge connections and are practically protected in such a disgusting bubble, they think everything they do,steal, manipulate or take the risk of copying has no consequences and its true a bunch of high paid lawyers on retainers will come and sweep up their MESS. And they have gotten away with it for YEARS. Sometimes I think gosh they
may just be really that dumb and clueless. As I black woman they have so many black friends, boyfriends, associates surrounding them..i think why wont these people educate them??? But its an issue,some of them have this mentality that they are just grateful to be in these ‘beautiful white Goddesses presents that they wont even say anything. Ugh
Beautiful?
Not well thought out is a reach. That would imply that they were thinking at all.
I hope both the estates of Biggie and Tupac sue the pants off those two vultures.
Maybe it is because I am poor but, who the hell would spend $125 for tee shirt? If I was so inclined, I could just go buy a black tshirt and do this myself and pay like no more than $25 for the shirt. Everything about that shirt is poorly designed. Also, why are their faces covering both black men? I actually have an answer for this but don’t feel like typing it all out.
@AT: I am neither poor or rich, and I would still not pay $125 for any t-shirt.
In answer to your last question, their faces are imposed over the artist’s image because they think sooooo much of themselves. The two men they hover over accomplished something meaningful in their too-short lives, unlike these two DimWits. The unspoken message K & K sent by producing these t-shirts should be enough to bring them down (hopefully).
Kendall jacked her face up so mich, I wasn’t sure who was the gorl in the last photo.
Agreed. She looks like she’s been visiting Kylie’s surgeon. That can’t be good for her modeling “career.”
Same here. How is Kendall going to get booked for more modeling jobs when she has altered her face? The old face and body was the one that got her modeling work.
Correction: Kris and the money she threw around is what got her the modeling work.
Stating that “the designs were not thought out” places fault with the designs and the people who designed them, and not themselves. Apologizing to anyone who was “upset and/or offended” carries the implication that not everyone was. This goes beyond white privilege. This is despicable.
Do they even KNOW Biggie & TuPac? I grew up with them and I’m about 20 years older. They’re so pathetic..when will they end?! Can’t they get sued?! Someone needs to knock these girls down sooooo many pegs.
Or the Doors or Pink Floyd or Metallica or Ozzy? They also had shirts made of these artists. I can’t believe we haven’t heard from Lars Alrich yet!
Seriously as if the 2Pac & Biggie weren’t bad enough… who wants to get on the wrong side of Sharron Osborne?!?!
I noticed the Metallica shirt in that grouping of pics as well. I would not screw with Metallica. Remember how they went after Napster? They also sued Victoria’s Secret for having a lip pencil called “Metallica”.
Kendall has a face that I want to smack
I thought it was Kylie in the last picture. Not only was this disrespectful, but also WTF is up with that kind of design? It’s awful!
I just can’t deal with these people.
Several points:
1. Appropriation of black culture – they’ve done it before, and you’d think if they had any sense they’d be more careful about it, which leads to my next point…
2. It’s on purpose – no way are they oblivious to the outrage this will cause, as others have pointed out above. There’s no way that Kris, their advisors, lawyers, etc. don’t know this is not going to go down well.
3. There’s no way that their lawyers don’t know this is infringement of copyright/image rights?? So it must be beneficial to them in some way, i.e. the benefit is greater than the fallout of bad publicity/threat of legal action, etc. right?
4. The “designs” are AWFUL. So cheesy, stupid, and pointless. Like, if I want a t-shirt with Tupac’s image on it, WHY would I want Kylie’s surgically enhanced ass basically covering him (in cornrows no less??)
What do this b*tches have to do with Tupac and Biggie anyway? What is their connection to them? What makes them think they have a right to do this? I’m glad Voletta Wallace had a strong response to it, but I can’t help feel that this is exactly the kind of reaction/publicity that they were going for in the first place, which is beyond disrespectful. HOW DARE THEY!? I hate being played by this kind of garbage people, which is what I am doing by commenting oh well!
“WHY would I want Kylie’s surgically enhanced ass basically covering him (in cornrows no less??)”
This! The t-shirt image of Kendall has her wearing jumbo hoops. It just doesn’t sit right with me. The layering of the exploiter over the top of the exploited is just sick.
You’d be surprised at the amount of young girls that will buy ANYTHING these two sell. It’s insane.
They’re not even bothering anymore to hide that they’re stealing from black culture…they’re blatantly taking it and copying and pasting their own sh*t over it. Kendall and Kylie are probably too dumb to realize why this was a terrible idea, but surely someone on their design/production/management team has half a brain and knew better and would have said something.
I agree with an above poster about do they even know who these men are and what they stood for? They were ICONS. The fact that these girls put their face over them is like they think they’re at their level or something. I was a teenager with the Rodney King trial and in LA at the time. Biggie and Tupac were literally changing the world. They were such innovators, educating all of us of the world of injustice and racism that was running rampant at that time and educating others on so many important issues at that time but also gave us some hope when the nation really needed it. I’m so very insulted that these two thought even for a second they could be compared or even appear literally “above” Tupac and Biggie. It’s appalling.
God these people are the worst. And they’re all such narcissists that even the negative press delights them. So I judge anyone who watches their show, follows them, or buys their products.
They also did it to logos of the doors, black Sabbath, kiss and pink Floyd. I guarantee they haven’t heard anything from any of these musicians
no the Doors sent them a cease letter as well and Sharon Osborne called them out as well.
I really didn’t phrase that properly, I meant they haven’t heard any of the music. I’m glad people are calling them out for this!
yes that too :). I don’t know who thought it was a good idea but it was one of the most tacky one’s they have done yet and that is saying alot. My apologies I did NOT read it correctly myself what you wrote I need my coffee still :).
No apologies necessary, the fault was all mine 😃 coffees for everyone
They used other artists too not just Biggie and Tupac. Sharon Osbourne tweeted at them for using Ozzy’s imagine. Not sure if it was intentional or not to exclude that info in this post but it wasnt just AA artists. The Jenner girls are culture appropriating idiots but not everything is a race issue. This is just vapid greed.
and tacky as well.
OK they are equal opportunity thieves in THIS case.
But I would think since they(Jenner Kardashians ) love sleeping with rappers Kanye,Tyga,A$AP Rocky,Travis Scott,etc;that would know not to disrespect Biggie and Tupac.
As others have mentioned they probably are not as familiar with Ozzy,The Doors, etc.
Greed is the issue on this matter, the story was too quick on the cultural appropriation allegation, but not surprised by them or the misfired-story.
I don’t understand. People make fun of them and claim to find them annoying and stupid yet they still have a tv show and millions of followers ?! Americans are fascinated with them like it or not.
Some Americans like them just like some Americans support Trump.
Biggie and 2pac weren’t the only ones, theyalso took bands, rock legends…
The Woods sent a cease and desist and dragged them by the extension filled hair, called them “attention seeking” and they tried to “steal and capitalize of those who actually did do something.”
The also took an Ozzie picture, to which both Sharon and her daughter, who’s name escapes me as I type this cimment, responded.
They wanna be mixed race baddies so badly 😂. I agree with the commentor above, these people thrive off black outrage and that outrage gets whitesplained away and translates into dollars from their mostly white fanbase.
Yeah, this is what happens when you plaster your name and face on products you do not get involved with. No way these two even contribute to designing their “line”.
At this point, I think this family does it on purpose…for pr.
I loved Sharon Osbourne’s tweet to them: “Girls you have not earned the right to put your face with musical icons. Stick to what you know…lip gloss.” SAVAGE AF and 100% true!!
WHO ARE THE PEOPLE THAT WOULD EVEN PAY FOR THAT?
there are people who pay money to just see pictures of the kardashians. why do these people exist and when can we send them into outerspace?
Of course they have to stand on the accomplishments of others to make themselves feel speshul and make a quick buck. These two are shameless. I’m glad they got dragged by BIG’s mom.
Wow. I’m WHITE and I wonder sometimes what does and doesn’t step over the lines of cultural appropriation, I’ll be honest. I don’t always know, so I try to stay as woke as possible. But even my white ass would have been like, “Holy crap, WORST. IDEA. EVER.” smh.
Utterly clueless. Or intentional? I hope they get sued for EVERYTHING and by each and every artist they stole from. These leeches on society need to go away.
They know the laws. They deal with licensing all the time to maintain control over their own precious images. Mama Ten Percent even trademarked (or tried to?) Kendall and Kylie’s names in various forms for marketing purposes. So they knew they needed to contact the artists or their heirs. Maybe it was all for publicity, but maybe they thought they could get away from it and make more money. The markup on those things must be huge.
Why they didn’t just issue t-shirts with just their own mugs plastered on them rather than this ridiculous and illogical overlay is totally baffling. Their little fans probably don’t know the original artists but will buy anything with their plastic-faced heroes on it.
The Kardashian/Jenner Klan are hypocrites. I remember when Kim sued Old Navy for using a model that looked like her ! I bet if another company tried to use Kylie or Kendall’s faces on t-shirts, they would sue ! These girls have a huge team that does most of the work for them. I am sure the team knew this was a copyright infringement but you know how desperate this family is for pr now a days. I put nothing past them !
As the Kardashian Klan is, for better or worse, public figures, they AND their legal teams should already KNOW that both statutory and common law Right of Publicity prohibit them from using these artists’ images for commercial use without consent (and they should know this because as public figures themselves they control the commercial use of their own likenesses; they should thank Bette Midler for that). This is a pile of lawsuits waiting to happen, and I hope every one of the artists or their estates sues their specially-tailored-to-accommodate-the-fake-butts pants off.
STOP buying fashion from people who didn’t go to fashion school, these people just license out their names for money. Its an insult to all the designers who go to school for years or learn their trade for years, it takes years I don’t care if you interned at Louis Vuitton for a couple of weeks or months. Design is a talent and a learned skill. I’m talking to you Ivanka, J.Lo. Beyonce, Its like a pop star not writing their own songs, oh never mind.
I’m first to admit I’m that white Casper the ghost is jealous! And growing up I listened to Metallica, guns n roses, pink floyd, the doors, black sabbath & a whole heap of so co punk music. I honestly couldn’t name one biggie or Tupac song (my apologies if I cause offence I just never got into rap music but I respect it takes a shit load of hard work and talent) but I do know that they are cultural icons and championed the fight against racism and were exceptionally talented musicians, I’m more offended by their use of Tupac and biggie then most of the other shit they have pulled due to blatant disregard for the deceased and what they stood for and to this day still do stand for! so for these two morons and their family to act oh so clueless about all the levels of wrong this is astounds me. They in no way shape or form have any right to these iconic images (even if they had licensing rights) because they have never and will never be on the same level as Tupac and biggie for what they have done for generations of people!
P.s yes I am also offended by the use of the great rock icons as well and hope every party that’s had their imaged used and stolen by this family will sit this family down and teach them a lesson