Luke Combs Offers Fan Money After Suing Her

Luke Combs has offered money to a fan who was sued by his company for selling merchandise that featured his face.

The country music star took to TikTok to apologize to Nicol Harness, saying the incident made him "absolutely sick to my stomach."

The small business owner from Pinellas County, Florida, was ordered by a judge to pay $250,000 in the lawsuit. She earns a living selling tumblers and t-shirts online, adorned with a variety of designs and slogans.

"I've spent the last two hours trying to make this right," Combs said in the clip. "I'm so apologetic, it makes me sick."

Newsweek reached out to Luke Combs via Instagram and Nicol Harness by Etsy for comment.

Harness was inspired to make Combs-themed tumblers after attending his Tampa gig in July, making $380 by selling them on Amazon. She was oblivious to the lawsuit, as the notification had reportedly gone into the spam folder of an AOL account she seldom checks.

The singer told followers that he was also "completely unaware" of the suit, and he only found out about Harness' situation after WFLA-TV covered the story.

In the segment, a sobbing Harness described receiving the $250,000 judgment notice, which arrived shortly after returning home from a hospital stint for congestive heart failure.

"I don't have money to pay my bills," she said. "I didn't mean any harm to Luke Combs. I quit selling the tumbler. I pulled it down. I just don't understand."

According to Ryan Mazur—a Florida-based attorney and the founder of Mazur Research—a new state law passed in 2022 allows defendants to be served by email if they have been unable to reach them by other means.

"A plaintiff must first obtain court approval, which would be done by filing a motion that identifies all the various efforts made to serve, like sending out a process server to all known business addresses," he told Newsweek.

"A plaintiff must also show that email service would be 'reasonably effective,' which could be done by identifying a particular email address that the defendant frequently uses."

The bill also includes "other technology" as a means of contact, such as social networks. However, the law only applies to businesses, as they are more likely to consistently maintain email and social media accounts.

"If the plaintiff obtains a court order and serves via email—the defendant can still challenge the validity of that service—but they'll have to come forth with better evidence than 'I never saw it,'" Mazur explained.

"Typically, a defendant would have to prove that plaintiff failed to meet the initial requirements to obtain email service in the first place, which will be very difficult to do, because a judge has already reviewed that evidence once and found it to be sufficient."

Combs asked his manager to track down Harness. The 33-year-old explained he does have a company that "goes after folks" for copyright infringement, but it is only supposed to target large corporations that illegally use his likeness.

"This woman Nicol has somehow gotten wrapped into that," Combs continued. "It makes me sick, honestly, that this would happen, especially at the holidays. I can't imagine being in her shoes."

Combs spoke to Harness on the phone. Amazon had locked the $5,500 she earned from sales after the ruling, so he gave her $11,000 to cover her immediate expenses. The judge's ruling affected multiple counterfeiters using the musician's image, with each ordered to pay $250,000.

"She was never supposed to be involved in anything like this. No fan should ever have to be involved in anything like this," Combs said.

As it was the tumblers that landed Harness in hot water, Combs has decided to add his own tumbler to his merch store, with the proceeds going towards her medical bills.

"Hopefully that can help her out," he said. "Again, this is unbelievable. I was completely shocked when I saw this this morning. This is not something that I would ever do.

"This is not the kind of person I am. I'm not greedy in any way, shape or form. Money is the last thing on my mind—I promise you guys that."

The Fast Car hitmaker has invited Harness and her family to a concert later this year, so he can "give her a hug and say sorry in person."

"It makes me sick for anybody to be thinking that I'm this kind of person, because I'm the farthest thing from it," Combs said, concluding the clip. "So, love you guys and I'll keep you posted."

Harness isn't the only seller to be sued over fan art. In June, the BBC launched a legal battle against several businesses hawking "counterfeit versions" of Bluey merchandise online, while back in 2018, Mari Mobility Development Co. was forced to pay Nintendo about $89,000 over its Mario Kart-inspired racing attraction.

Update 12/15/23, 04:37 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with comment from Ryan Mazur.