Alexandra Babkowski
In 2019, Ariana Grande filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Central District of California against Forever 21 for violating her right of publicity, a legal construct designed to help celebrities control their identities for commercial use. This right is important to protect in light of the influence of celebrity endorsements and the risk that businesses will misappropriate celebrities’ images because they cannot afford the hefty price tags associated with celebrity endorsement. This Essay argues that under common law, Forever 21’s use of unauthorized photographs of Grande and the look-alike model violate Grande’s right of publicity. Under California statutory law, Grande would only be able to recover for Forever 21’s unauthorized use of photographs of Grande.