- Forever 21 is selling a $23 black sweatshirt with the words “Don’t call me angel” printed above an image of a cherub.
- The Pop Hub, a pop-culture site, shared a screenshot of the sweatshirt on Monday, and compared it to Ariana Grande’s hit song of the same name, which also features Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey.
- It’s unclear if Ariana Grande, who wrote the song alongside six other writers, has trademarked the phrase.
- Grande previously filed a $10 million lawsuit against Forever 21 over advertisements her lawyers argue reference her, though it was recently paused as a result of the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
- Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Forever 21 is selling a sweatshirt that could have been inspired by Ariana Grande just days after a lawsuit between the company and singer was paused.
The black sweatshirt retails for $22.99, and has the phrase “Don’t call me angel” written above an image of a cherub. The phrase is reminiscent of Grande’s hit song, “Don’t Call Me Angel,” which was released in September in support of the upcoming “Charlie’s Angels” film. Miley Cyrus and Lana Del Rey are also featured on the song.
The Pop Hub, a pop-culture site, shared a screenshot of the sweatshirt on Monday and compared it to Grande’s song.
https://twitter.com/ThePopHub/status/1186445473898549249?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Grande fans on Twitter replied to the tweet and agreed that the shirt seemed to be inspired by the song.
https://twitter.com/saddestbtch__/status/1186455782021312518?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfwhttps://twitter.com/Andrew_mlbn19/status/1186573583306366976?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
they want a double lawsuit sooooo bad huh. they don’t have enough money to pay her respect
— kathe🇨🇴 (@arianavillapico) October 22, 2019
It's currently unclear if Grande or her team have trademarked the "Don't call me angel" phrase. It's also unclear if Forever 21 was directly inspired by her music when creating the sweatshirt. Insider has reached out to representatives for Grande and Forever 21 for clarification but did not immediately hear back.
The musician is credited as a writer on the song, alongside Cyrus, Del Rey, Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, ILYA, and ALMA.
This isn't the first time Forever 21 has seemingly been inspired by Grande or her music
In September, the musician filed a $10 million lawsuit against the company over its advertisements, which her lawyers argued clearly reference the star.
Grande's lawyers accused the clothing retailer of hiring "a look-alike model" and using audio and lyrics from her song "7 Rings" on social media. According to her lawyers, the advertisements suggested "to the viewing public that Ms. Grande endorsed Forever 21, its products, and was affiliated with Forever 21."
The complaint included screenshots of Forever 21 social-media posts that it said used Grande's music and likeness earlier this year after the star walked away from a merchandise deal with the retailer. The ads no longer appear on the brand's social-media pages.
But on Friday, days before the sweatshirt appeared online, The Blast reported that Forever 21 paused the lawsuit previously filed by Grande.
The outlet reports that Forever 21 notified Grande that the lawsuit would be coming to a halt as a result of the company's recent Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing. Forever 21 and Grande will have to wait to pick up the lawsuit until the company's bankruptcy filing is resolved, according to The Blast.
- Read more:
- I used to shop for clothes exclusively at Forever 21. Here's why I stopped going over time, and why I'm not surprised the store has filed for bankruptcy.
- Ariana Grande's 20 most popular songs, ranked
- Photos show the glory days of Forever 21, which thrived with cheap styles in the wake of the recession but has now fallen into bankruptcy
- Watch Ariana Grande cut her iconic ponytail in a spoof of her 'Thank U, Next' video