Former Child Pop Star Aaron Carter Has Made an Enemy of Artists Who Say He Used Their Work Without Permission to Promote His Apparel Line

The latest complaint comes from German artist Jonas Jödicke.

Aaron Carter. Photo by Presley Ann/Getty Images for WE tv.

Aaron Carter is the latest musician to be accused of using an artist’s work without permission.

In a since-deleted tweet, the US rapper and former child pop star included an image of an artwork by Jonas Jödicke depicting two lions to promote the sale of bleached hoodies priced at $100 each. When the Berlin-based digital artist called the singer out on social media, Carter doubled down and offered to take the issue to court.

“You should’ve taken it as a compliment dick a fan of MINE sent this to me,” wrote Carter on Twitter. “This image has been made public and im using it to promote my clothing line aaroncarter.com guess I’ll see you in small claims court FUCKERY.”

The singer shared Jödicke’s heart-shaped artwork, titled Brotherhood, which features two lions butting heads, with a link to his online store. “Two lions at war can reach an understanding,” Carter wrote in the tweet. “I have my lions den, you have yours.”

When Jödicke realized his work was being used, he pointed out that he had not granted Carter image permissions, and asked his followers to reach out to the singer, seeking credit.

“My art is being commercially exploited by people on a daily basis,” Jödicke wrote. “We artists have rights too!”

As of press time, Carter has not responded to requests for comment.

Aaron Carter promoted his merchandise line using this Jonas Jödicke artwork <em>Brotherhood</em> without credit or permission. Image courtesy of Jonas Jödicke.

Aaron Carter promoted his merchandise line using this Jonas Jödicke artwork, titled Brotherhood. Image courtesy of Jonas Jödicke.

This is not the first time Carter has been accused of using images without permission. In a September Instagram post, he said he was creating a necklace based on another picture of a lion he claimed to have made himself. But on Twitter, Maldivian artist Ali Shimhaq responded to Carter to say it was actually his own work, made in 2014.

“Bro literally get over yourself,” Carter responded. “I bought the image and I own it. And I touched it up and re rendered some colors. Fuck off snd srop clout chasing. Or sue. Me. Fuck off.”

Since deleting the message that featured Jödicke’s art, Carter has posted a new one featuring the work of artist Eli Klein, with a link to the artist’s Twitter account. In the comments, Klein wrote: “I’m cool with it. Glad for the promotion!”

Carter, the younger brother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, rose to fame in the late 1990s with albums like Aaron’s Party (Come Get It). But the 2010s were difficult years for the singer, who filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and checked himself into a rehab center four years later.


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