Kim Kardashian is in another legal battle… over furniture???
Here’s the deal. In 2022, the 43-year-old reality star posted a video to YouTube giving fans a tour of her massive office for SKKN. At one point Kim bragged about a table and set of chairs she claimed were created by the late minimalist artist and furniture designer Donald Judd. She said:
“These Donald Judd tables are really amazing, and totally blend in with the seats.”
However, the painter did NOT make the furniture pieces — at least according to his nonprofit foundation! Now, they’re pissed at Kim for passing off furniture as the deceased designer’s creations. The New York Times reported on Wednesday they are now suing Kim her false claims in the video!
The organization also accused Clements Design, which produced the tables and chairs that looked like ones designed by Donald, of trademark and copyright infringement. The lawsuit states:
“Consumers are likely to believe Judd Foundation and the Donald Judd brand are connected or affiliated with, or otherwise sponsored or endorsed Ms. Kardashian. Judd Foundation categorically prohibits customers from using purchased Donald Judd furniture for marketing and promotional purposes.”
Huh. Usually the Kardashians are accused of using other designers’ work and NOT crediting them, not the other way around!
The designs in question include the La Mansana Table 22 and Chair 84 made by Donald. According to the foundation, the table alone costs a whopping $90,000, and only three authentic copies have been sold in the last 15 years. Meanwhile, the chairs are $9,000 each and over 350 chairs have been sold. None of the items sold by the foundation went to Kim.
Related: Prince Harry Named In $30 Million Lawsuit Against Diddy — WTF?!
So when the businesswoman declared in the video she had pieces from Donald in her office, the foundation was stunned, to say the least. Three days after the clip went live, they reached out to Kim about the items. Per the lawsuit, a spokeswoman addressed the complaint, saying they were “incredibly sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the foundation” and offering to “update the video caption with a retraction.” However, the Judd Foundation was not satisfied with those terms. They wanted the video deleted, the furniture “recycled,” and Kim to issue a public statement. BTW, the video was eventually removed — but only after the lawsuit was filed.
Kim’s reps continued to negotiate, offering to make a social media post to support the foundation. But the Judd Foundation still wouldn’t budge. Now the dispute is heading to court! Crazy!
The Kardashians star has not addressed the lawsuit. Clements Design slammed the Judd Foundation in a statement, saying there were “obvious key differences” between the furnishings and that the design company was “blindsided” by the lawsuit since there had been efforts “made to resolve this issue amicably.” They also complained the foundation “was unwilling to settle on reasonable terms,” adding:
“The Judd Foundation’s prior counsel acknowledged these differences and since then, we have not heard from them in over a year… These claims have absolutely no merit.”
But the foundation pulled out the receipts, literally! Per The New York Times, they shared an invoice from Clements Design asking for furniture “in the style of Donald Judd” and including a picture owned by the Judd Foundation of the dining set. Their lawyer, Megan Bannigan, said:
“It is lower quality than Donald Judd’s furniture. We don’t want to be mixed up with Kim Kardashian. We respect what she does, but we don’t want to be involved with this.”
Some may think the lawsuit is overkill (though it clearly was required to even get the vid taken down). The late artist’s daughter Rainer Judd argued to NYT the foundation is simply trying to “protect” his work:
“We are just doing our job to protect Donald Judd’s work. Not every artist foundation has the time or resources to do that.”
We’ll have to wait and see how all of this plays out! Reactions to the lawsuit, Perezcious readers? Sound OFF in the comments below.
[Image via Angie Martinez/YouTube]