Justin Bieber Chastises H&M For Unapproved Use Of His Image On ‘Trash’ Merch
Justin Bieber never says never, unless it’s for something he can’t, for the life of himself, endorse.
On Monday, the pop star took to Instagram to criticize H&M for rolling out merchandise with his likeness and lyrics without his knowledge. “I didn’t approve any of the merch collection that they put up at H&M,” he declared on his Stories.
“I wouldn’t buy it if I were you,” Bieber continued. He also labeled the line as “trash” and urged fans to “don’t buy it.”
Justin Bieber says H&M’s new merch is being sold without his permission or approval 😳 pic.twitter.com/Vv63GowZKv
— DANI MEDINA (@danimedinanews) December 19, 2022
The offending lineup included shirts with collages of the singer’s face, a tote bag, and 2000s-inspired items referencing his World Tour, such as lyrics to his song Ghost.
Pressured by the Biebs and his Beliebers, H&M has pulled down the range “out of respect” for him, the company tells BuzzFeed News.
However, H&M reiterates to members of the press that it had gone through “proper approval procedures” for the Bieber merchandise, as it does for all its licensed products and collaborations.
It’s likely that the brand had reached out to a licensor of Bieber’s images, which wouldn’t necessarily mean it would need to get to his team’s line of sight, to launch the collection. The feud echoes one between Banksy and Guess, in which the anonymous street artist had called out the American fashion retailer for selling Banksy-themed items without his approval.
The Banksy-inspired series featured shirts, dresses, and jackets emblazoned with the claim: “with graffiti by Banksy.”
Well, is it too late to say sorry now?
