After being accused of stealing lyrics last month, Taylor Swift is now facing allegations from a New Orleans artist that she used a woman's fox design without her consent or permission during the "Shake It Off" singer's "1989" album promotions, according to TMZ.
Last year, Swift posted a fan-made watercolor illustration of a fox along with lyrics of her "1989" song, "I Know Places." The post grabbed the attention of Ally Burguieres, who accused Swift of art theft in an open letter on her website titled "Dear Taylor, Love Ally."
"As a professional artist, I was astonished to see you use one of my most popular designs on all your official social media platforms as part of your promotion for '1989," said Burguieres in the letter.
"While I wondered why no one had sought permission or offered compensation to do so, I recognized that such endorsement is a once-in-a-lifetime boost for an artist and can skyrocket an artist's career," she said before adding that the illustration "was a copy, and with someone else's name signed to it."
Burguieres then went on to describe Swift as "someone so outspoken about artists' rights" and said that she thought Swift did not take necessary action because it was possible that she wasn't aware of the mistake and would do something about it if someone brought it to her notice. However, Burguieres said that she was mistaken.
"I thought if you only KNEW about the error, you would do what is in your power to make it right. I was wrong," she said before adding that "after months" she received an offer from Swift's team for a "four-figure" amount with the condition that she must donate the full payment that she receives.
"Taylor, as a professional, would you agree to such terms from Apple, or Spotify? My work is my living - it is how I pay bills and support my family and employees," she wrote.
In response, Swift's team stated that Burguires did not get in touch with the singer or her representatives as she claims and they replied to the artist as soon as her post was brought to their attention via social media and offered her a fair compensation for her design.
"Notwithstanding the huge publicity this has generated for Ms. Burguieres and her store, in early November, Ms. Swift's office made a fair offer of payment well above a reasonable licensing fee for the short time that the fan art was posted online," said Swift's representative, according to Rolling Stone.
"[The artist's lawyer] promised to get back to us with an explanation of why she felt Ms. Burguieres was entitled to more money, but she never did that and the next we heard was Ms. Burguieres' new posting," the rep added. "We have tried on multiple occasions to address Ms. Burguieres' concerns, but these actions make it clear to us that this is just an unfortunate effort to extract more money and more publicity."
Burguieres then issued the following statement: "Standing up for my rights does not mean I'm 'going after' you or anyone else.
"I spoke with the artist who originally copied the design, and the issue has been resolved. What has not been resolved is your sharing of the pirated copy to millions of people, and your further compounding this mistake by refusing to officially credit me for the work you used, even going so far as to insult and discredit my intentions.
"I have only ever asked for what any artist knows is reasonable and fair, and in a way that does not target or [vilify] you, but does hold you accountable to a professional standard."
