It’s not easy being a walking, talking meme. Just ask Kylie Jenner, who is backtracking on reports she came for a Gold Coast mum who ripped off her famous ‘Rise and Shine’ catchphrase with a t-shirt.
ICYMI, Jenner – who is ‘the youngest self-made billionaire ever’ – reportedly sent a cease and desist letter to an Australian woman who was selling t-shirts printed with “rise and shine” earlier this month.
Unless you’ve really been living under a rock, you’d be well aware that Kylie recently attempted to trademark the phrase “rise and shine” after a video of her singing it to her daughter essentially broke the Internet and racked up billions of hashtags on TikTok overnight.
Fast-forward to this week and Jenner reckons it was no big deal. “Guys, please don’t believe everything you read,” she tweeted. “I have not sent any Rise and Shine cease and desist letters. Rise and Shine was an unexpected moment…I had a lot of fun with it, and I have laughed so hard seeing everyone’s memes since the video came out a few weeks ago.”
Jenner hammered her message home by adding the tweet, “There are no lawsuits, no cease and desist letters. Happy Sunday.”
Riddle me this, Ky: if being an overnight meme lord was just a bit of good ol’ fashioned fun, why is there sold out ‘Rise and Shine’ merch on your website?
It’s not the first time the Kardashian-Jenners have cashed in on their media scandals and meme-worthy moments. I mean, how could we possibly forget Kim Kardashian’s emoji spinoff, Kimoji? The reality TV star was flogging phone cases featuring her iconic crying face from season two of Kourtney and Kim Take New York.
Even Kardashian-Jenner matriarch and momager Kris Jenner has her own merch and emojis.
Then there’s the fact that Kylie did attempt to trademark the phrase “rise and shine” after it catapulted her into global headlines. Sadly, Jenner was blocked by New Jersey woman Cathy Beggan who already owns the right to the “rise and shine” catchphrase as the founder and president of Rise-N-Shine LLC, a nutritional supplement, vitamin, and cosmetics company founded in 2006.
Sure, “rise and shine” might’ve been a bit of fun, but there’s no denying the Kardashian-Jenners love making a profit if and when they can.