Kendall and Kylie Jenner Hit With Copyright Suit Over Tupac Ts

An Instagram apology didn’t spare Kendall and Kylie Jenner from being sued for making T-shirts featuring photographs of rapper Tupac Shakur overlaid with their own photos and initials.

Michael Miller is claiming in California federal court that it’s his copyrighted photographs of the late rapper that were used by the celebrity sisters in making a short-lived line of T-shirts for their growing Kendall + Kylie brand that quickly sparked a social media backlash.

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The sisters soon took to Instagram to apologize for the T-shirts — versions of which featured photos of late rapper Notorious B.I.G. and Metallica as well as Tupac with overlaid graphics, like bright yellow “K”s and an Instagram photo of Kylie — admitting they “were not well thought-out” in a joint post.

But that’s not enough for Miller, who’s seeking $150,000 for each presentation of his photograph.

Representatives of both Jenner sisters could not be immediately reached for comment.

Miller claims two of his copyrighted photos of Tupac have been wholly “misappropriated” by the youngest sisters of the Jenner-Kardashian brood, and said he was never notified of their use and naturally never gave such authorization.

“And with good reason,” Miller said in his complaint. “An association with Kendall is particularly problematic given that she was complicit in not one but two of the worst public relations disasters in recent memory.”

Miller pointed to Jenner’s role in a Pepsi ad that was widely criticized for appropriating and even downplaying the Black Lives Matter protest movement, which was quickly pulled, as well as her work promoting the ill-fated Fyre Festival, now the subject of several lawsuits and a federal indictment.

In addition to his claims of copyright infringement for the allegedly unauthorized use of the photos, Miller is accusing the sisters and their related brand of intentionally removing a watermark on one of the photos and is seeking additional unspecified damages for the act.

Beyond monetary damages, Miller is asking the court to enjoin any production or sale of the T-shirts.

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