The son of a legend refused to allow people he called “crooks” smear his father’s good name by trying to make a profit off of illegal items he discovered for sale online.
Racing star and famed NASCAR driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently took to social media site, Twitter, in a heated rant against people using both his name and the name of his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., on various items they were selling illegally.
The racing star uploaded photos of the offending merchandise and poorly manipulated photograph that was crafted to “show” Dale Jr. donning one of the ripoff t-shirts (he clearly never has worn one).
“Public Service Announcement: These shirts are made and sold illegally,” He captions the photos on Twitter. “I am not affiliated in any way. #Crooks #Swindlers #Counterfeit.”
Public Service Announcement: These shirts are made and sold illegally. I am not affiliated in any way. #Crooks #Swindlers #Counterfeit pic.twitter.com/ojY5FHU5JD
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 20, 2017
The advert for the t-shirt clearly states “Automatic entry into Dale Earnhardt Jr. Meet and Greet contest with purchase!”, however those are 100% falsehoods and intended to mislead the customer, tricking them into purchasing the counterfeit garments.
Beyond just slamming the “crooks” and “swindlers” selling the t-shirts for blatantly lying to customers, Dale Jr. also got fired up defending his father’s good name/likeness from being used for scam artists to make money off of unwitting buyers.
In a series of follow-up tweets, Dale Jr. admitted that he would be fine with the sale of the shirts had the makers gone about doing it in a legal manner.
I'm fine with legal profit. The costumer is the 1 who is cheated and lied to in this case. There is no meet n greet as advertised in the ad. https://t.co/GdnQzNCW0R
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 20, 2017
“I’m fine with legal profit,” He wrote, adding, “Illegal use of my fathers [sic] name or likeness without permission. Not to mention Goodwrench, Chevy, RCR, trademarked #3. The list goes on.”
NO. Illegal to use my fathers name or likeness without permission. Not to mention Goodwrench, Chevy, RCR, trademarked #3. The list goes on. https://t.co/aGaNlAuLJO
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) March 20, 2017
Dale Jr. isn’ the only celebrity that gets heated and infuriated over people making an illegal profit off of intellectual property and trademarked items being copied.
Country music star Kacey Musgraves once posted a photo of decorative wall art that featured lyrics from one of her songs, adding that it was used without permission and stealing profits from a songwriter’s pocket. In that instance, they credited Musgraves on the piece of art, but without licensing she was not getting the credit she deserved for writing the lyric “Mind your own biscuits and life will be gravy.”
What do you think about the shop selling illegal merchandise with Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s likeness on it?
Watch the video below of Dale Jr. telling a hysterical story about his father throwing a shoe at him!