Aaron Carter has come under fire for allegedly misappropriating digital artist Jonas Jodicke's work to promote his merchandise.
The 32-year-old singer and Jodicke, 25, clashed on Friday (17Jan20) on Twitter after the creative, based in Berlin, Germany, took issue over a shot of a pair of lions the I Want Candy star posted while linking to his website.
"Hey @aaroncarter .. You are using my artwork to promote your merchandise," he wrote. "I have not given you permission to do so. My art is being commercially exploited by people on a daily basis. We artists have rights, too!"
However, his words weren't well received by the singer, who told the artist, "You should've taken it as a compliment d**k... Guess I'll see you in small claims court F**KERY."
Carter added: "A fan of MINE sent this to me. oh here they go again, the answer is No this image has been made public and im (sic) using it to promote my clothing line."
Jodicke expressed his frustration with his work being lifted without credit or permission, with stars including Madonna allegedly "taking my hard work for their own purposes without even asking."
He later spoke to Forbes about how Carter called attention to his complaint, leaving the artist community "outraged".
"His response to my tweet was what got the whole tweetstorm going," Jodicke said. "Instead of apologising or reaching out to me to discuss things, he insulted me and said I should be glad he was using my art to promote his store."
Meanwhile, the musician shared an Instagram video, vowing that "those people are gonna be sued" because he paid photo agency Shutterstock for the art, adding, "Tell your friends to f**k off, idiot. F**king idiots!"
