Kendall and Kylie Jenner have publicly apologised for using altered images of music icons on a line of T-shirts after The Notorious B.I.G.'s estate officials threatened them with legal action.
The reality stars recently launched a collection of 'Vintage Tees' featuring photos and graphics of artists like late rappers Biggie and Tupac Shakur, and rockers Metallica. However, the original images weren't clearly visible as colourful prints of either Kendall or Kylie were laid over the top of the pictures.
Kendall and Kylie have also removed all images of theT-shirts from social media
The siblings faced heavy criticism online following the release of the new Kendall + Kylie line, and bosses from The Notorious B.I.G.'s estate even fired off a cease and desist letter, demanding the items be removed from sale.
"This is misappropriation at its finest," attorney Julian K. Petty told TMZ.com. "I'm curious to hear the justification. I'm even more curious to hear the proposed resolution."
The T-shirts, which retailed for $125 (£96), have since been taken down from the website, but not before Biggie's mother, Voletta Wallace, also slammed Kim Kardashian's younger sisters in a post on Instagram, venting, "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 (Biggie) to sell a t-shirt. This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!!!"
The backlash has since prompted the Jenners to pull all of the pieces from their website, and admit the T-shirts were poorly created.
"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," reads a statement issued via Twitter. "We are huge fans of their music and it was not our intention to disrespect these cultural icons in anyway. The tee shirts have been pulled from retail and all images have been removed. We will use this as an opportunity to learn from these mistakes and again, we are very sorry."
The manager of The Doors estate also sent a cease-and-desist letter to Kendall and Kylie over the controversial new line of T-shirts, which features one of Kendall's face pasted over the band's logo.
Jeff Jampol told Rolling Stone, "This is a case of people who fashion themselves as celebrities who are famous for being well-known but don't actually do anything trying to utilise and steal and capitalise on the legacies of those who actually did do something and created amazing art and messages. It's ironic, at least, and criminal, at worst, both morally, ethically and artistically."
Calling the sisters "attention-seeking missiles who crave celebrity", he adds, "It's the polar opposite of the artists that they're trampling all over. It's just spitting in the face and on top of art and message and soul and legacy."