Katy Perry Cashes In On Left Shark Suit From Super Bowl Half-Time Show
Leave it to Katy Perry to capitalize on a performance mishap. During Katy Perry’s Super Bowl Halftime Show, one of her back-up dancers, dressed up in a shark outfit, stole the show after he seemingly forgot his steps. The “left shark” immediately became a social media phenomenon, with dozens of people even making DIY shark costumes to honor the dancer. Perry, perhaps realizing that the left shark was truly the star of the show, decided to sell an official scaled down version of the shark costume. She announced the release of the official left shark onesie on her Twitter, saying, “YOU CAN NOW BE A PROPER #LEFTSHARK WITH THIS OFFICIAL, GLORIOUS #LEFTSHARK ONESIE”.
ATTENTION INTERNET: NO LONGER DO YOU HAVE TO DIY LEFT SHARK COSTUME LIKE THIS GUY: pic.twitter.com/s5RjIa4RiC
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) March 2, 2015
YOU CAN NOW BE A PROPER #LEFTSHARK WITH THIS OFFICIAL, GLORIOUS #LEFTSHARK ONESIE: http://t.co/HgMpbv4Hos pic.twitter.com/8RSgqZa6sq
— KATY PERRY (@katyperry) March 2, 2015
The Left Shark onesie costs $130, but the “California Girls” singer is offering a cheaper alternative. As part of her new “Left Shark” line, Perry is also selling a $25 “Left Shark” t-shirt that has an illustration of the infamous mascot in the front with the caption “Current Mood.” Many fans have cried foul over the steep price tag, with some saying that instead of shelling out money for the official merchandise, they will just make DIY versions of the outfit.
Prior to Perry’s launch of the “Left Shark”-inspired apparel, many unofficial DIY products commemorating the left shark have been sold online. Just last month, Perry’s lawyers issued a cease and desist order to an artist who has been selling figurines of the left shark. Fernando Sosa, the artist in question, made the figurines using a 3D printer and sold them through the online marketplace, Shapeways.com.
Shapeways notified Sosa that Perry’s lawyers have demanded that he remove the figurines from the site. “They said they were pulling the design because they didn’t want to deal with lawyers,” Sosa said. After they pulled the figurines out of the website, Shapeways cancelled all orders of the product and issued refunds to customers who have already purchased it.
According to Sosa, he wasn’t aware that a halftime show prop could be copyrighted and that he was sure he wasn’t breaking any laws because he never used Katy Perry’s name in his product. However, Perry’s attorneys claim that anything involved in Perry’s halftime show performance is an intellectual property of the pop star. They also said that Sosa’s failure to comply with their cease and desist order is tantamount to copyright infringement.
Prior to the cease and desist letter, Sosa sold 15 of the figures for $24.99 each.
[Image via YouTube]
