Rihanna filed a lawsuit against her father, Ronald Fenty, for allegedly misusing her name without permission.
According to court documents obtained by Entertainment Tonight, Rihanna, formerly named Robyn Rihanna Fenty, claims that her father and his business partner Moses Joktan Perkins “have egregiously and fraudulently misrepresented her to third parties and the public.”
Her father created a company, Fenty Entertainment, LLC., and claimed that they are affiliated with Rihanna and made statements that they have authority to act on her behalf. However, Rihanna’s attorney wrote that her companies have zero affiliations with her father’s business.
Rihanna claims that the business partners attempted to solicit millions of dollars from third parties while promising that she would perform at numerous events throughout the world, such as 15 shows in Latin America in December 2017. All of these exchanges were made without her authorization.
Rihanna said that her father and his business accepted a deal for $15 million in exchange for the 15 promised shows in Latin America. They also claimed she would perform additional shows in the U.S. for $400,000.
The pop singer trademarked the Fenty name in 2014 due to her successful Fenty Beauty Line.
During this current lawsuit, Ronald Fenty attempted to trademark the Fenty name in 2018 with the U.S. Parent and Trademark Office, but he was denied.
Prior to this lawsuit, Rihanna’s legal team sent cease-and-desist orders to Fenty Entertainment, LLC., all of which they said were ignored. Rihanna claims that she has told the company to stop misrepresenting her, and to end all efforts to “exploit her name and the goodwill associated with her Fenty brand.”
Rihanna and her father haven’t always had a stable relationship, according to an interview in 2012 with Oprah Winfrey. During this interview, Rihanna mentioned that Ronald Fenty was abusive to her mother. She said “He was a bad father and a bad husband.”
Listen to the interview below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJvMV6aSso4&w=560&h=315]
This is a photo of Rihanna and Ronald Fenty from Aug. 27, 2018.
According to court papers, Rihanna’s legal team wrote, “Plaintiffs bring this lawsuit to protect Rihanna’s name, reputation, goodwill, and privacy, to recover damages for Defendants’ wrongdoing, and to enjoin Defendants from further defrauding other unsuspecting members of the public.”
