The Donald Judd Foundation is suing Kim Kardashian for falsely claiming work by the prolific Minimalist artist during a promotional video tour of her Skkn by Kim offices. “These Donald Judd tables are really amazing,” Kardashian said in the 2022 video, describing two large wooden tables, which "totally blend in with the seats."
First reported by the New York Times, the non profit filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California and also named Clements Design, who produced the tables, over trademark and copyright infringement. “Consumers are likely to believe Judd Foundation and the Donald Judd brand are connected or affiliated with, or otherwise sponsored or endorsed Ms. Kardashian,” the lawsuit states, adding, “Judd Foundation categorically prohibits customers from using purchased Donald Judd furniture for marketing and promotional purposes.”
Based in West Hollywood, Clements Design states it was "blindsided" by the lawsuit, adding that there are “obvious key differences” between the dining set they constructed and that of Judd's work. Kardashian has yet to make a public statement regarding the filing. Back in 2022, however, just several days after initially posting the video, the Donald Judd Foundation reached out to Kardashian regarding the matter, to which one of Kardashian's spokesperson had responded saying their team was “incredibly sorry for any inconvenience this has caused the foundation” and offered to “update the video caption with a retraction," as well as have Kim publish a social media post supporting the foundation.
“We don’t want to be mixed up with Kim Kardashian," Megan Bannigan, a lawyer representing the foundation said. "We respect what she does, but we don’t want to be involved with this." Instead the non profit wanted the faux-Judd tables to be recycled
and for Kim to issue a statement retracting her claims in 2022.
The original table costs $90,000 USD, with only three selling over the past 15 years, while each chair runs for $9,000 USD — with the foundation archiving each purchase within its records. Donald's daughter, Rainer Judd, states the issue isn't necessarily about the tables and more about protecting her father's work.
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