A celebrity sunglass customizer has come forward to defend claims that Rick Ross' Louis Vuitton frames are fake.
Jacob Bernstein, known as “The Sunglasses Pimp,” says he added gold accents to Ross’ highly questioned frames.
“It’s the same thing as buying a Rolls Royce and having it tricked out; just because the product has been customized by me doesn’t take away from the fact that the frames are authentic Louis Vuitton Millionaires,” Bernstein said. (AllHipHop)
A lawyer for Louis Vuitton allegedly wrote a letter to XXL Magazine claiming the glasses Ross wore on their May 2009 cover were not authentic.
“We were dismayed to see the cover of the May 2009 issue of XXL Magazine, which features a photo of Rick Ross wearing a pair of sunglasses prominently featuring counterfeit Louis Vuitton trademarks. The sunglasses Mr. Ross is wearing were not made by Louis Vuitton, and in fact, are counterfeit. Louis Vuitton did not grant permission to Mr. Ross or to whoever did make the sunglasses to use our trademarks.” (XXLMag)
This isn’t the first time that Ross’ credibility has been questioned.
“It’s sort of embarrassing to me because as you listen to his raps you would definitely believe him but… his jewelry is rented, possibly not real. His cars are being leased. It’s just sad. I just want to prove the facts,” his baby’s mother, Tia Kemp, said in an interview with Ross’ sworn enemy 50 Cent. (ThisIs50)
But the luxury fashion and leather goods company also has a history of targeting rappers. Last year, they prevented T.I. from releasing his video for “Swing Ya Rag.”
“We did it, and it came out hot,” Tip said of the video. “Louis [Vuitton] and Gucci started trippin’ about it. They were saying we were infringing, in one way or another. They weren’t happy about it. They didn’t want it to come out. But it’s hot, though.” (MTV)