Model Hailey Baldwin has been accused of plagiarism.
The 19-year-old faces legal action after posting a quote by author Melissa Molomo, from her book “Say What’s Real”, on Instagram without attributing the words to the writer, reports pagesix.com.
After Baldwin’s friend and singer Selena Gomez got into a much-publicised Instagram spat with their mutual former boyfriend Justin Bieber, Baldwin seemed to show her support for Gomez by posting a poetic Zen meditation on human error
“We’ve all had our fair share of things we’ve done, both good and bad. What makes the present so powerful is when we take complete responsibility for our actions, we allow ourselves self-growth,” Baldwin wrote.
“Misplacing the blame onto someone else isn’t going to get you to the next stage in life, so try not to manipulate a situation to make yourself look better,” she added.
When the remarks — which have since been taken down — were taken as a dig at Bieber, they were quoted in articles everywhere from sites like Teen Vogue to Us Weekly.
Molomo, who actually wrote the uncredited quote, has fired off a cease and desist letter demanding that Baldwin should apologise and stop lifting her work.
In the letter, Molomo’s attorney, Z Zoltan Stein, wrote: “In copying and using Ms. Molomo’s work without permission, you have taken credit and caused confusion as to whom the original author of this work is,” adding that the Baldwin could be liable for damages up to $150,000.
The letter also demands that Baldwin should “make a social media post apologising for stealing Ms. Molomo’s content and fraudulently passing it off as your own.”
The text is taken from Molomo’s book “Say What’s Real”.
