'Us Weekly' Vs. Kitson: Ugly End Of The Mutually Beneficial Affair?
The owner of Kitson, the oft-tabloid-namechecked Robertson Boulevard boutique that offers the celebrity-obsessed the first opportunity to express their allegiance in various high-profile domestic squabbles through a trendy t-shirt purchase, is suing Us Weekly, the glossy that once delighted in publicizing the shop's free-spending, celebutard clientele, alleging that some legal feuds between the two parties have led the magazine to stop obsessively documenting the comings and goings of his business's famous patrons.. The LAT documents the currently chilly state of the two parties' relationship, which was once was as warm and snuggly as one of the store's sale-priced Cambodian babies nestled in an Ugg boot:
The lawsuit alleges the magazine now refuses to name or show the Kitson brand in credits, captions or celebrity photographs. As an example, the suit cited the magazine's cropping of a picture in such a way that its blue shopping bags, "generally known to readers, did not display the name Kitson on it."
Not long ago, Us Weekly gushed that Kitson was "L.A.'s hippest hot spot."
But now, according to the lawsuit, the magazine refuses to mention the store. Evangeline Lilly, one of the stars of the ABC show "Lost," was pictured in the magazine attending a private Kitson launch party. But the suit says, Kitson was never mentioned. The suit says the same was true for California First Lady Maria Shriver and her daughter Katherine, who were pictured leaving Kitson even though the store was left out of the credit. In the same August issue, the suit Nicole Kidman's photograph stated she was leaving rival retailer Fred Segal.
We sincerely hope that both sides can work through this spat without the use of the courts; it would be truly sad if Us Weekly continued its untoward dalliance with the overexposed Fred Segal, forcing Kitson into the tragically downmarket arms of Life & Style, InTouch Weekly, or, God forbid, that filthly little whore Star.