Kim Kardashian is facing a new lawsuit after allegedly making false claims about some furniture displayed in her SKKN by Kim office.
“These Donald Judd tables are really amazing,” Kardashian, 43, said in a 2022 office tour, referring to the late minimalist artist’s work. The businesswoman went on to note that the tables “totally blend in with the seats” of her monochrome office. (The video has since been removed from Kardashian’s YouTube channel.)
However, according to the nonprofit foundation that represents Judd’s legacy, the late artist did not design said tables. The organization is suing Kardashian for making false claims in a lawsuit obtained by Us Weekly on Thursday, March 28. (Us has reached out to Kardashian’s team for comment.)
“Consumers are likely to believe Judd Foundation and the Donald Judd brand are connected or affiliated with, or otherwise sponsored or endorsed Ms. Kardashian,” the court documents read. “Judd Foundation categorically prohibits customers from using purchased Donald Judd furniture for marketing and promotional purposes.”
@kimkardashian Hi Guys! Join me for an exclusive tour inside my @skkn headquarters. You’ve been asking for this video for a long time and I am so excited to finally be able to share with you where my team and I work from. Watch the full video on my YouTube channel now.
The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and also names Clements Design, who helped curate the office space and allegedly made the dining set that appears to mimic Judd’s designs. Clements Design is being accused of trademark and copyright infringement.
The discourse between Kardashian and Judd’s foundation began in 2022, days after the original office tour was uploaded to YouTube. The Judd Foundation claimed that they contacted Kardashian at the time.
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A spokesperson for Kardashian reportedly told the foundation that they were “incredibly sorry for any inconvenience” and offered to “update the video caption with a retraction.” However, the Judd Foundation wanted the video deleted with Kardashian issuing a public statement. Following back and forth between the two parties, the dispute is headed to court.
Judd’s table — which goes for $90,000 — has only had three authentic copies sold in the last 15 years.
“This issue was brought to our attention over a year ago,” Clements Design said in a statement to Us on Thursday. “We communicated with the Judd Foundation’s counsel and explained to them in no uncertain terms that there were obvious key differences between the tables and chairs in Kim’s office and the Judd Foundation’s tables and chairs.”
The statement continued: “The Judd Foundation’s prior counsel acknowledged these differences and since then, we have not heard from them in over a year, and are now being blindsided with a lawsuit. Efforts were made to resolve this issue amicably at the time and the Judd Foundation was unwilling to settle on reasonable terms. These claims have absolutely no merit.”
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A report from The New York Times on Wednesday, March 27, shared a separate statement from lawyer John Ulin written to the Judd Foundation.
“It is simply not true that Clements Design commissioned imitation Donald Judd tables,” it read. “They are different tables with different designs.”
The statement continued: “The Judd Foundation’s prior counsel acknowledged these differences and since then, we have not heard from them in over a year.”
While Kardashian has yet to comment, the Judd Foundation reportedly obtained an invoice from Clements Designs describing the furniture in question to be made “in the style of Donald Judd.” A picture of Judd’s original dining set was allegedly included.
“It is lower quality than Donald Judd’s furniture,” a lawyer for the Judd Foundation, Megan Bannigan, told The NYT. “We don’t want to be mixed up with Kim Kardashian. We respect what she does, but we don’t want to be involved with this.”
