Rihanna may share her father’s namesake. But, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t demand some respect to be put on the empire she’s built.
As reported, the singer and beauty entrepreneur is taking her father to court for allegedly using her Fenty brand to launch a business entity of his own and therefore capitalize on both their relationship and her successes.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, RiRi claims her father, Ronald Fenty, started a talent development company in 2017 called Fenty Entertainment, the same year she launched Fenty Beauty.
As a result, Rihanna is claiming her father is profiting off the reputation and fanbase she’s built from the ground up, stating that his use of the name Fenty is in violation of the trademark she’s established.
“Although Mr. Fenty is Rihanna’s father, he does not have, and never has had, authority to act on Rihanna’s behalf, nor has he ever been authorized to use her name, intellectual property or publicity rights,” the suit reads in part. “Similarly, neither Mr. Perkins nor the Company has any affiliation whatsoever with Rihanna.”
Additionally, Rihanna also asserts that her father and his business partner, Moses Joktan Perkins, illegally advertised themselves as her representatives. As exemplified in the surfaced court docs, Rihanna claims they even tried to take advantage of the situation by trying to book her for 15 shows in Latin America in December 2017 without her approval — and for $15 million, no less. Additionally, the singer is claiming they also tried to use her name to attempt to book two 15-minute sets at the Staples Center and at the T-Mobile Arena for $400,000.
Rihanna is also claiming that her dad tried, but was unsuccessful, at trademarking the name “Fenty” to use for a series of resort boutique hotels.
According to reports, Rihanna has sent multiple cease and desist letters to her father. But, he continuously ignored her warnings. So, as a result, she is now pursuing legal action against him.
The lawsuit also notes that both Robert and Perkins have been asked on stop misrepresenting themselves and have been asked “to cease and desist all activity and efforts to exploit Rihanna’s name and the goodwill associated with the Fenty brand.”
The singer is reportedly seeking an injunction to keep her father and his partner from using the Fenty name for commercial reasons. She’s also asking for $75 million in damages.