Responding to accusations Taylor Swift stole the folklore merch logo from a black designer, the singer's team issued a statement claiming they were getting rid of "the" from "the folklore" as a nod of respect for a black artist and her company. The singer dropped her eighth studio album entitled Folklore earlier this month.
Swift's team issued a statement to Good Morning America on July 28, as she responded to accusations made by artist Amira Rasool. The singer's rep pointed out that they were made aware that the specific use of the word "the" before "folklore album" on a slew of folklore album merchandise was a matter of concern.
The reps confirmed that they have neither manufactured nor made merchandise that has the word "the" before "folklore album." The statement says that out of respect for her, they immediately informed everyone who ordered the merchandise with the word "the" before "folklore album" that they will now receive their order with the new design, E reported.
Rasool expressed gratitude via a tweet to Swift and her team to address the matter without wasting a lot of time. She wrote that she appreciates the singer's team's effort to identify and rectify the damage the merchandise caused to her company, The Folklore brand.
Rasool said she recognized Swift as a strong supporter of women protecting their creative rights, noting that she was happy to see that her team is on the same page as well. The owner of The Folklore brand, a company that exclusively sells goods from Africa and the diaspora according to its website, complained that Swift's merch logo looked too similar to her own.
She took to her Twitter account on July 24 to call out Taylor Swift for stealing a black women's logo. Rasool shared the same post on her Instagram account, claiming that she wants to share her story to reveal how large companies and celebrities copy the work of small minority-owned business owners. She wrote that she won't allow this theft to go unchecked in her post.
After her concern was addressed, Rasool issued a statement to InStyle saying that her lawyers were in touch with Taylor's to come up with necessary steps to rectify the situation. She went on to say that Taylor's team removed "the" from all merchandise, deeming it as a great first step.
She said her lawyers were in conversation with the singer's team discussing the next step to amend the situation.