Influencer’s Stolen Photo Aesthetic Lawsuit Against Rival is Dropped
The highly publicized showdown between two influencers over a stolen photo aesthetic has ended with the lawsuit being quietly dropped.
Texas-based influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford filed a first-of-its-kind copyright lawsuit last year against fellow content creator Alyssa Sheil accusing her of stealing her “neutral, beige, and cream aesthetic” in photos on social media.
The legal battle over the copied photo vibes, infamously dubbed the “Sad Beige” lawsuit by the internet, was expected to have far-reaching implications for copyright protections in the content creation industry if Gifford won her case. However, according to The Fashion Law, Sheil has secured a victory after Gifford’s lawsuit was officially dismissed with prejudice this week.
In the lawsuit, Gifford — who has over 790,000 followers across Instagram and TikTok — had claimed “at least” 30 photo posts across Sheil’s platforms featured “identical styling, tone, camera angle, and/or text” to her images. She argued that Sheil — who has 380,000 social media followers — began copying her aesthetic after the pair met on a joint photo shoot in January 2023.
Influencer Sydney Nicole Gifford (left) has accused fellow content creator Alyssa Sheil of copying her aesthetic in multiple photos on social media.
Gifford included several of Sheil’s photos which purportedly shared similar beige, gray, and neutral color schemes, fonts, and camera angles as hers. Gifford argued that this was equivalent to copyright infringement.
While a Texas judge ruled that Gifford’s case could move forward, The Fashion Law (TFL) reports that the influencer has dropped her lawsuit. According to the news outlet, Gifford and Sheil submitted a stipulation of dismissal with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas on Wednesday, signaling the end of the case.
Sheil’s lawyers say their client “prevailed today and will be paying nothing” in exchange for Gifford dropping her “meritless claims.”
Sheil has repeatedly denied that she copied Gifford’s photos, instead arguing that there are many influencers with the same “clean girl” aesthetic. The clean girl aesthetic is characterized by a polished, minimalist look with an emphasis on neutral colors, with Sheil citing celebrities such as Hailey Bieber as an influence.
“I could have caved to Ms. Gifford’s demands, but this was a much larger fight and sets a precedent that young minority entrepreneurs will not allow ourselves to be bullied,” Sheil says in a statement to TFL. “Ms. Gifford attempted to intimidate me into leaving this industry. She failed miserably as the truth has prevailed today.”