The Notorious B.I.G.’s mother Voletta Wallace is denouncing a T-shirt made by Kendall and Kylie Jenner.
The “limited edition” shirt in question features a photo of Kendall superimposed on top of an iconic image of Tupac Shakur and Biggie together. The Jenners sold it, along with two other shirts featuring ‘Pac, at $125 apiece.
In an Instagram post, Ms. Wallace called the shirt “disrespectful.” “I am not sure who told @kyliejenner and @kendalljenner that they had the right to do this,” she wrote. “The disrespect of these girls to not even reach out to me or anyone connected to the estate baffles me. I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the deaths of 2pac and my Son Christopher to sell a t-shirt. This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!”
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Biggie’s estate’s lawyer, Julian K. Petty, threatened legal action if the shirts remain on sale. Shortly after firing off a cease and desist letter to the Jenners, the shirts were pulled from their website.
“This is misappropriation at its finest,” said Petty. “I’m curious to hear the justification. I’m even more curious to hear the proposed resolution.”
Kendall Jenner has been involved in a series of controversies this year. In April, she was criticized for appearing in a since-removed Pepsi ad that trivialized police brutality issues.
“Pepsi was trying to project a global message of unity, peace and understanding. Clearly we missed the mark, and we apologize,” Pepsi said in a statement. “We did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content and halting any further rollout. We also apologize for putting Kendall Jenner in this position.”
Jenner was also involved in promoting Ja Rule’s ill-fated Fyre Festival before it came under investigation for fraud.
UPDATE: Kendall and Kylie Jenner have issued an apology for the T-shirt designs, which also included images of Ozzy Osbourne, Pink Floyd, and The Doors.
“These designs were not well thought out and we deeply apologize to anyone that has been upset and/or offended, especially to the families of the artists,” said the sisters (via Twitter). “We are huge fans of their music and it was not our intention to disrespect these cultural icons in anyway.”
According to the Jenners, the shirts will no longer be sold. “The tee shirts have been pulled from retail and all images have been removed,” they added. “We will use this as an opportunity to learn from these mistakes and again, we are very sorry.”