Hailey Baldwin has been accused of plagiarism.
The 19-year-old model faces legal action after posting a quote by author Melissa Molomo, from her book ‘Say What’s Real’, on Instagram without attributing the words to the writer.
The text, which has since been deleted, went on to be published in several publications including Teen Vogue magazine and Us Weekly after it was assumed it was a dig at pop star Justin Bieber – who she was previously rumoured to be dating – following his feud last month with his ex-girlfriend Selena Gomez.
The quote read: "We’ve all had our fair share of things we’ve done, both good and bad. What makes the present so powerful is when we take complete responsibility for our actions, we allow ourselves self-growth. Misplacing the blame onto someone else isn’t going to get you to the next stage in life, so try not to manipulate a situation to make yourself look better."
According to documents obtained by the New York Post newspaper’s Page Six column, Melissa has sent a cease and desist letter to Hailey, which means if she fails to take action the author has a right to sue her unless she apologises and refrains from copying her work.
The letter, written by Melissa’s attorney, Z. Zoltan Stein, reads: "In copying and using Ms. Molomo’s work without permission, you have taken credit and caused confusion as to whom the original author of this work is."
Hailey could be liable to pay the author damages of up to $150,000.
The document also states that the blonde beauty should "make a social media post apologising for stealing Ms. Molomo’s content and fraudulently passing it off as your own."
A spokesperson for the star is yet to comment.
Hailey Baldwin accused of plagiarism
