Luke Combs apologizes to woman hit with costly legal bill for selling unofficial merchandise
By Marianne Garvey, CNN
(CNN) — Luke Combs is trying to do right by a Florida woman who was reportedly ordered to pay $250,000 for using his likeness on unofficial merchandise.
“This is not something that I would ever do,” the “Fast Car” singer said on TikTok Wednesday.
Combs said he found out about the lawsuit after WFLA in Tampa, Florida reported that Nicol Harness had been sued by his representatives for selling merchandise on Amazon that featured the country star. In total, Harness said she sold 18 Combs-themed tumblers for $20 each, and was sued for copyright infringement in Illinois federal court.
Combs said that should not have happened.
“It’s 7:27 a.m. here in Tennessee. I woke up at 5 a.m. to use the restroom, and the first thing I saw is this, a woman that’s being sued by me for $250,000,” he said, adding that he had been unaware of the lawsuit.
Harness said the lawsuit notification landed in her junk folder while she was in the hospital, dealing with heart issues. She had missed the deadline to respond, found liable for trademark infringement and was ordered to pay statutory damages, according to WFLA.
“It’s very stressful. I don’t have money to pay my bills. I just want this resolved. I didn’t mean any harm to Luke Combs. I quit selling the tumbler. I pulled it down,” she told the outlet.
Combs said on TikTok he spoke to Harness to try to help.
“We do have a company that goes after folks, supposedly large corporations operating internationally — that make millions and millions of dollars making counterfeit t-shirts, things of that nature, running illegal businesses, and apparently this woman, Nicol, has somehow gotten wrapped into that,” he explained. “That makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.”
Combs continued, “She told me that she was absolutely shocked by this. I’m so apologetic. It makes me sick, honestly, that this would happen, especially at the holidays. I can’t imagine being in her shoes.”
“She was never supposed to be involved in anything like this. No fan should ever have to be involved in anything like this,” he added..
Combs said he started selling a similar tumbler on his website and will donate the proceeds to “help with her medical bills.”
“Hopefully that can help her out,” he said.
“I invited Nicole and her family out to a show this year so I can give her a hug and say sorry in person” Combs added.
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