Taylor Swift is under fire after a Black business owner accused her of selling merchandise for her new album, “Folklore,” that strongly resembled her brand logo.
Artist Amira Rasool took to social media to address her disappointment that Swift’s merch designs resembled the logo of her online boutique called The Folklore.
The Folklore sells clothing, accessories and home decor from African designers.
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“Wait hold up. Taylor Swift, it’s one thing to use the name ‘Folklore,’ but we’re out here stealing Black women’s logos too?” Rasool wrote on Twitter.
She later reposted her tweet on Instagram and wrote, “Based on the similarities of the design, I believe the designer of the merch ripped off my company’s logo.”
Rasool added: “I am sharing my story to bring light to the trend of large companies/celebrities copying the work of small minority-owned business owners. I am not going to let this blatant theft go unchecked.”
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Swift’s team issued a statement to “Good Morning America” on Tuesday in response to the accusations.
“Yesterday, we were made aware of a complaint that the specific use of the word ‘the’ before ‘folklore album’ on some of the ‘folklore’ album merchandise was of concern,” the singer’s rep said. “Absolutely no merchandise using ‘the’ before the words ‘folklore album’ has been manufactured or sent out.”
The statement continued: “In good faith, we honored her request and immediately notified everyone who had ordered merchandise with the word ‘the’ preceding ‘folklore album’ that they will now receive their order with the design change.”
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Rasool later took to social media in response to Swift’s team’s statement.
“I commend Taylor’s team for recognizing the damage the merchandise caused to my company @TheFolklore’s brand,” she wrote on Twitter. “I recognize that she has been a strong advocate for women protecting their creative rights, so it was good to see her team is on the same page.”
Rasool added: “It was a great first step and we are in conversation right now with Taylor’s team about the next steps to make this situation right.”
Swift, 30, responded directly to The Folklore owner on Twitter and said, “Amira, I admire the work you’re doing and I’m happy to make a contribution to your company and to support the Black in Fashion Council (launching on 8/3) with a donation @thefolklore @amirarasool @bifcglobal #blackinfashioncouncil.”
