Kiesza Sued by Graffiti Artist over "Hideaway" Video

Published Jan 15, 2016

Despite yielding millions upon millions of views, it doesn't seem like everyone has enjoyed Kiesza 's "Hideaway" video. The Canadian-raised pop star is currently facing a lawsuit over allegedly misappropriating work from graffiti artist Jamie Hef (a.k.a. Jamie Mitchel Kosse) in the New York-set breakthrough video. Courthouse News reports that Kosse filed the suit against Kiesza (real name Kiesa Rae Ellestad) and Universal Music Group in U.S. Federal Court on Tuesday (January 12). The complainant claims that his work was used in the popular video, which has received over 266 million hits since premiering in the spring of 2014, without his consent.Various pieces of work of his are seen in the video, which finds Kiesza dancing through the streets of Williamsburg. In particular, the video makes use of Kosse's "Frogs, Elephant, Alphabet Demons, Adam and Graffiti HEFS" mural.While NBC, CBS, Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios had previously licensed Kosse's street art for programs includingand full-length feature, it's alleged that neither Kiesza nor Universal Music approached the artist.As such, the suit alleges that the use of Kosse's work in the video "creates the false impression that plaintiff endorses Kiesza, which he does not, and that he authorized the usage of his highly distinctive works to promote the launch of Kiesza's career."It's added that this "appears to have been intentional because they are emblematic of the urban gritty cool image that Kiesza projects in the 'Hideaway' video and in her subsequent music videos."Representatives for Kosse are said to have reached out to Kiesza in the past to block the use of their client's work, but received no response. Kosse is seeking an unspecified amount in damages for copyright infringement and false endorsement.Kiesza has not commented on the lawsuit, but you can see the supposedly infringing video down below.