Makeup artist Samantha Ravndahl took to Reddit's "Makeup Addiction" subforum earlier today to ask a "slightly unrelated" question: What do I do if Lil' Kim stole one of my photos to use as art for her latest album?

At first blush, Ravndahl seems to have a hell of a case.

Lil' Kim — or, more likely, her handlers — have indeed been using Ravndahl's popular "Glam Zombie" photo (which features Ravndahl herself) without credit to promote the release of Queen Bee's latest mixtape joint "Dead Gal Walking."

In fact, on Lil' Kim's official Instagram page, Ravndahl's photo even appears with a copyright mark attributed to Lil' Kim.

With Reddit firmly on Ravndahl, it wasn't long before the image was overrun with users calling Lil' Kim a "thief" and a "washed up cum bucket."

TMZ says it spoke with Ravndahl, and she, in turn, claims to have spoken with Lil' Kim's people, who initially brushed off her demands for payment.

After insisting, Ravndahl was told to be patient, as Lil' Kim's management "works slowly."

Meanwhile, the photo remains up on both Instagram and Lil' Kim's TwitMusic page, which has been promoted by Lil' Kim's Twitter account multiple times since Halloween.

Neither Kim nor her crew has issued a response to the growing controversy. In a recent update, Ravndahl said she plans to consult with a lawyer on how to proceed.

Regardless of the outcome, it's safe to say Reddit won't be downloading any Lil' Kim mixtapes for the foreseeable future:

Update 5:30 p.m.: In the spirit of giving everyone their due credit, as noted by hatch, the comic above is based on a drawing by Anthony Clark of Nedroid fame.

[screengrabs via Instagram, TwitMusic, bottom image via Reddit]