{"id":105714,"date":"2025-08-24T03:32:07","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T03:32:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/105714\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T03:32:07","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T03:32:07","slug":"rupauls-drag-race-alum-lexi-love-on-trademark-infringement-claim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/105714\/","title":{"rendered":"‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Alum Lexi Love On Trademark Infringement Claim"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tEXCLUSIVE: After making her RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race<\/a> debut this year on Season 17, Lexi Love<\/a> is fighting to keep her own drag name amid a trademark infringement<\/a> complaint.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe drag queen, whose legal name is Clair Barnes, recently responded after adult entertainment actress Selena Scola called out her, the show, Paramount+<\/a> and World of Wonder<\/a>, requesting that they \u201cimmediately and permanently cease all use\u201d of the Lexi Love name.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI\u2019ve had three venues pull out because she is sending them also cease and desist emails,\u201d Barnes told Deadline. \u201cShe made a post speaking negatively about my trials and tribulations I opened up about on the show, including my HIV.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBarnes continued, \u201cMy team reached out and have had no return communication from her, and she just keeps reporting my accounts. I offered a licensing agreement, terms, anything, and she is just continuing to attack online.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNoting she\u2019s used the name since 2009, Barnes said she\u2019s \u201cconsidering having a \u2018Name Me\u2019 [contest] or something before she ruins everything I have worked for and erases me off social media.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tScola previously wrote in her complaint on X<\/a> that \u201cby taking my name and using it without consent, you are erasing my two-decade legacy and identity\u2014actions that directly contradict the values of consent, authenticity and respect that LGBTQ+ and marginalized communities champion for.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAlthough she shared a screenshot of a 2009 ruling that granted her rights to the LexiLove.com domain, that trademark was cancelled in March 2015, according to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). <\/p>\n

\n\tScola\u2019s new trademark was approved by the USPTO this January after she filed another application in February 2024, requesting the name for use with talent agency and management services for \u201cperforming artists being both human clients and digital talent in the nature of digital personas, virtual performers and AI-driven talent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udce2 Clarification Regarding Misidentification & Trademark Infringement<\/p>\n

The RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race Season 17 contestant using the name \u201cLexi Love\u201d on Paramount+ \/ MTV \/ World of Wonder platforms is not me. Use of my name by RuPaul\u2019s Drag Race, contestant Barnes, and affiliated\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/EXOnv4EyaU<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Lexi Love \u2122 \ud83e\udde0\ud83e\udd16\ud83d\ude3b (@LexiLove) August 8, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tBarnes was announced as part of the RPDR Season 17 cast<\/a> in December, with the season running from Jan. 3 to April 18 on MTV<\/a>. \u201c[Scola] was being tagged as me and two months after I was announced on TV, she reinstated an old trademark she no longer had and is now attacking my social media, Cameo and streaming music,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\n\tScola took aim at Barnes\u2019 HIV status and transgender identity on X, writing: \u201cThese personal disclosures were made publicly by the contestant while using my name in commerce without consent.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSuch infringement causes significant brand confusion, damages my personal and professional reputation, and creates false associations with experiences and conditions that do not apply to me or my brand,\u201d added Scola.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn addition to her adult entertainment work, Scola\u2019s credits as Lexi Love include Prison Guard #2 in Director\u2019s Cut (2016) and Kickball Player in Jexi (2019), as well as the voice of Prostitute #4 in Grand Theft Auto V (2013).<\/p>\n