Miley Cyrus' Feud With A Feminist Cake Artist Raises An Important Issue
Uh-oh. Woops. Miley Cyrus — whom some revere as the ultimate feminist, an enthusiastic equal-opportunist, and total inspiration — is in hot water. Nope, it's not for showing her nipples. And no, it's not for grinding on a foam finger. This time, she's being accused of stealing art work. More specifically: Miley Cyrus' "Abortion Is Healthcare" Instagram post is being accused of copying one cake-decorator's design and the resemblance is truly hard to deny. Elite Daily reached out to Cyrus' team for comment on the accusation but did not hear back by the time of publication.
Cyrus recently launched her latest and greatest EP called She Is Coming, which is full of ass-kicking anthems, freedom cries, and party-bumping beats. It's everything fans love about Cyrus and everything her haters criticize: uncensored, unapologetic, and unabashedly bold. It's also the perfect backdrop to her new collaboration with Planned Parenthood and Marc Jacobs. Together, they designed a special charity hoodie featuring a photo of Cyrus and the now-iconic lyrics from the She Is Coming track "Mother's Daughter." It reads: "Don't f*ck with my freedom."
Marc Jacobs' website explains:
Join the movement in a limited-edition cotton hooded sweatshirt featuring Miley screen-printed at the front and our logo printed at the back. 100% of net proceeds to benefit Planned Parenthood.
To announce her collab, Cyrus posted a photo on Instagram with her signature tongue-out pose. In the picture, she's hovering over a giant sprinkled cake with the words "Abortion Is Healthcare" frosted across the top. Honestly, I adore it.
There's just one teeny problem... people have seen it somewhere else before. And that's on Becca Rea-Holloway, aka, @TheSweetFeminist's Instagram account. Rea-Holloway makes incredible cakes with messages of equality displayed front and center. Included in her portfolio is an International Women's Day cake and sweets with messages regarding safe-housing, toxic masculinity, and yes, abortion. In fact, she made a cake that looks nearly identical to the one displayed in Cyrus' photo.
According to Rea-Holloway, no one ever contacted her about using her creation and she was never credited for the concept. She went ahead and reposted Cyrus' picture with the caption:
@mileycyrus just announced a collaboration with @marcjacobs @plannedparenthood @happyhippiefdn using this image. It is a direct theft of my own original art work from May 2018, with no credit. It’s literally my exact handwriting, message, and concept. Swipe for comparison! Cake art is for everyone, but this is inexcusable.
Cyrus' Instagram handle immediately commented on the repost assuring Rea-Holloway they would be tagging her and claiming they did not immediately know where the image of the original cake came from. The comment said:
Hi, we saw the image online and didn’t realize it was yours. We will absolutely tag you for your work. This image is not on the Marc Jacobs x Planned Parenthood hoodie we made to raise money and awareness for Planned Parenthood which I know is also close to your heart. It is just on the post and not on the merchandise but we will absolutely tag you and give you the credit for your art. If you could please correct your post, as we’re going to make sure you have all the credit you deserve... thanks for sharing your art and inspiring us. 🎂
OK...
Naturally, Rea-Holloway saw the comment and followed up asking some obvious questions like how hard would have it had been really to find the creator of the original cake? Also, "Instagram tag" isn't how one is compensated for their work, whether it's for a good cause or not.
“Hi there, I appreciate your quick response and I’m thrilled that Miley is working with Planned Parenthood to support their incredible work," she wrote. "While I acknowledge your tag (although it should also be in the caption itself), it doesn’t change the fact that my work was used without compensation and without my consent and it is not sufficient."
Rea-Holloway continued, "My original image was shared widely, but it certainly would not have been difficult for someone on your team to trace it back to the source (this is clear from the number of people who immediately recognized it as my work). This was not an oversight, it was blatantly and willfully neglectful and deceitful."
Additionally, she pointed out that while Cyrus and Marc Jacobs weren't profiting off of her design directly, somebody else did. As she put it:
I would have been more than happy to work with you on a collaboration for this project, but instead my work was just copied without compensation. Someone got paid to make, style, and photograph this cake, and it wasn’t me... It’s also totally unacceptable that you deleted my comment on the post.
Her comment concluded by stating she has received "hundreds of threatening, horrible comments and messages" for standing up for herself, noting the "serious, tangible consequences" that come from this kind of act for artists like herself. She ended with, "Honestly I find it laughable that you think you’re in a position to ask me to edit the language on a post on my own feed advocating for myself in a way that has no incorrect information."
Cyrus and her team had yet to respond to Rea-Holloway's latest message at the time of publication. Fans and followers are all standing by to see what happens next.
