Taylor Swift and her team have moved quickly to respond to accusations that she copied the logo for the merchandise that goes with her new album, "Folklore," from a Black-owned business called The Folklore.
According to Amira Rasool, the logo originated from her store "The Folklore," which is "an online concept store delivering Africa & the diaspora's top contemporary designer brands."
In an Instagram post shared on July 24, Rasool explained, "This morning, it came to my attention that musician #TaylorSwift is selling merchandise to go along with her new album 'Folklore'. She is currently selling merchandise with the words "The Folklore" printed on them. Based on the similarities of the design, I believe the designer of the merch ripped off my company's logo."
MORE: Taylor Swift's 'Folklore' sets streaming records, sells over 1.3 million worldwide in under 24 hoursShe wrote, "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."
In a statement on Tuesday, Swift's team responded, "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. Absolutely no merchandise using 'the' before the words 'folklore album' has been manufactured or sent out."
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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."
Rasool later tweeted, "I commend Taylor's team for recognizing the damage the merchandise caused to my company @TheFolklore's brand. 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."
I commend Taylor's team for recognizing the damage the merchandise caused to my company @TheFolklore's brand. 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. https://t.co/8KR5IaYkIs
— Amira Rasool (@AmiraRasool) July 28, 2020
Rasool also issued a statement to InStyle saying that her lawyer had been in contact with Swift's manager, and added, "Taylor's team took swift action to have 'the' removed from all merchandise ... 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."
