Rihanna 'to sue Topshop for £3million' after fashion chain uses pictures of her on T-shirts without her permission

Pop superstar is said to have claimed Topshop should pay to use her image

T-shirt was a bestseller with photo from her 'We Found Love' video

Rihanna has spent time with Sir Philip Green and his daughter Chloe in past



Row: Rihanna is said to be threatening to sue Topshop over the use of her face on a popular T-shirt

Rihanna is threatening to sue Topshop after claiming they sold T-shirts with her face on it without asking permission.

The superstar's team is said to have told the high street clothing chain run by billionaire Sir Phillip Green to stop selling them, and is reported to be asking for £3million in compensation at the High Court.



The legal threat comes despite the What's My Name singer having dined with Sir Philip and music mogul Simon Cowell while on her Christmas break to Barbados in 2010.



The star, who last year signed a deal worth a rumoured £800,000 to design a range with High Street rival River Island, tweeted about the Boxing Day meal they had together, saying: 'Just had dinner w/ Simon Cowell Philip Green @ Sandy Lane! Great night!'

She has also spent time with Sir Philip's daughter Chloe while holidaying at the same time in the Caribbean two years ago.



It was even rumoured she might follow in the footsteps of Kate Moss and design a range for Topshop, but the two parties could now face each other in court.



Last year Topshop released a T-shirt featuring a picture of Rihanna from her 'We Found Love' music video, which sold out quickly afterwards.



It is understood this is the garment at the centre of the row.



In Britain companies could argue that by buying the image from the photographer, they do not have to pay licensing fees to the star pictured.

A source close to the singer said the 25-year-old was offered a small sum of cash and Topshop told her management 'we do what we want', according to Page Six.

Battle: Style Icon Rihanna, pictured yesterday in New York, was rumoured to be close to designing for Top Shop, like Kate Moss had previously



Dinner pals: Rihanna having a meal with Sir Philip Green and friends in Barbados on Boxing Day 2010

Chat: Sir Philip's daughter Chloe sits with Rihanna on Barbados over Christmas 2011

'Rihanna’s management asked Topshop a number of times to stop selling her image,' the source said



'What is most offensive for Rihanna is that they basically told her, "Go to hell. We don’t care"; we are going to continue selling you.

'Even though the UK laws don’t protect the artist, she has decided to move forward and sue Topshop. She has spent almost $1 million in litigation at this point. She says it’s the principle, and wants to make a statement about it. They are taking advantage of artists. It is just exploitation. What they are doing is wrong.'

Row: Rihanna is said to have instructed a British law firm to deal with the case with Topshop on her behalf, as she says they should pay to use her image

Topshop is a British retail powerhouse which is trying to expand in America, setting up stores in New York, and said it would not comment today.



But a company source said: 'This issue is related to a T-shirt provided to Topshop by a third party supplier.

