Rihanna’s fashion brand Savage X Fenty is being fined a sum of $1.2 million. The company has been accused of deceiving consumers and enrolling them in VIP membership even without their knowledge. This was a big blow to the lingerie brand after the 34-year-old singer also received a mountain of criticism for inviting Johnny Depp to the annual Savage X Fenty Show.
Savage X Fenty was started by the Lift Me Up singer in 2018. A joint venture with the TechStyle group, the lingerie brand is famous for its representation of people. They have often presented plus-sized models to promote their products. This has led the company and Rihanna to receive a very positive reception from the audience until recently they got embroiled in some controversies.
Why was the Rihanna-owned brand sued?
Similar to many other sites related to shopping and fashionwear, Savage X Fenty also comes with an Xtra VIP membership plan. According to the latest reports, the company fooled its customers to be enrolled in the optional membership scheme without their knowledge. This led many people to lose a significant amount of their hard-earned money.
The Xtra VIP plan costs $49.50 per month and allows customers to get services like extra discounts, exclusive sales, styles, and many other things. Despite sounding quite normal, the subscription plan faced an intense backlash from the users. According to a lawsuit filed by Santa Clara County and four other significant Californian local governments, the company has breached the automatic-renewal law of the country by misleading the customers to be a part of the premium plan.
Rihanna’s ‘Savage X Fenty’ is reportedly being fined $1.2M for defrauding customers.
A lawsuit filed by Santa Clara County and four other California local governments allege that the brand automatically enrolled customers in the Xtra VIP subscription plan, which costs $49.95/mo. pic.twitter.com/3D06MW4ESC
— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) December 3, 2022
After the company was accused of enrolling its customers in the premium plan without their consent, the Rihanna brand couldn’t defend itself. The complications presented by the website were openly criticized and the deputy district attorney of Santa Clara county stated:
“Consumers have a right to know up front what they are paying for and how often. Businesses have a duty to be transparent about their automatic renewal charges.”
Now the brand has to pay $1 million along with $50,000 for investigative costs, and $150,000 as compensation to the VIP members in California. Even though Savage X Fenty later corrected their website following the trouble and cooperated with the Government norms, this list of controversies might have a significant impact on Rihanna and her brand.
How is Johnny Depp linked to Savage X Fenty?
Savage X Fenty is also known for hosting a grand annual function each year where various stars and models appear. Following the first season, the show has been televised for the last three versions. All four parts starting from 2019 to 2022 are there as television specials on Amazon Prime titled Savage X Fenty Show.
Even after having a wide fanbase, this year it got embroiled in some Internet drama after Rihanna invited Johnny Depp to the fourth version of the show. It can’t be denied that after the defamation trial against Amber Heard, and especially after the unveiling of the secret documents, there has been an impact on Depp’s image among the audience. Even many of his friends from the industry unliked his post-trial appreciation post on Instagram after the documents came to public notice.
Besides the Pirates of the Caribbean fame, the show also had stars like Simu Liu, Bella Poarch, Cara Delevingne, Winston Duke, and various others.
All the seasons of the Savage X Fenty Show can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
Source: Twitter
