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Courtney Love Accuses Olivia Rodrigo of Plagiarism

Courtney Love Accuses Olivia Rodrigo of Plagiarism
Courtney Love attends the Dior Homme Menswear Fall/Winter 2020-2021 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 17, 2020, in Paris, France. (Francois Durand for Dior/Getty Images)

By    |   Monday, 28 June 2021 09:59 AM EDT

Legendary rocker Courtney Love has accused "Drivers License" hitmaker Olivia Rodrigo of "stealing" her band's artwork.

Taking to social media, Love noted several similarities between her band Hole's album cover for "Live Through This," and the artwork used to promote Rodrigo's upcoming concert film, "Sour Prom." 

"Spot the difference! #twinning! @oliviarodrigo," Love captioned photos of both her and Rodrigo's artwork on Facebook.

In the images used for Hole's album cover, Love is wearing a tiara and holding a bouquet of white flowers with her mascara smeared down her face. Rodrigo's promotional images similarly feature the pop star wearing a tiara with smeared mascara. In her hands she holds a bouquet of purple flowers. 

"Stealing an original idea and not asking permission is rude. There’s no way to be elegant about it," Love vented in reply to a fan who accused her of cyberbullying. 

"I’m not angry . It happens all the time to me . And he really I’m very gracious or say nothing . But this was bad form . That’s not bullying or bomb throwing . This persons music has nothing to do with my life . Possibly never will . It was rude And I gave every right to stick up for my work . Don’t gatekeep me ! I’m honorable as f--k to my fellow artists , and I expect the same ."

In another comment, Love added, "It was rude of her and Geffen not to ask myself of Ellen von Unwerth," who is the photographer who shot the Hole album cover.

Love also added the post to Instagram, which garnered a response from Rodrigo on the platform.

"Love u and live through this sooooo much," she wrote, according to E! News.

"Olivia - you're welcome," Love responded. "My favorite florist is in Notting Hill, London! Dm me for deets! I look forward to reading your note."

In 2019, Von Unwerth revealed in an interview with Another that the inspiration for Hole's album cover came from the 1976 film "Carrie." 

"Courtney Love called me," she recalled. "We were on the phone for one hour. I didn’t say much but listened, and Courtney had the idea of re-enacting the scene of the [1976] movie Carrie, which I loved, too."

Von Unwerth added that she and Love clicked right away. 

"I just met her the night before the shoot wearing her famous schoolgirl dress," she said. "We had some drinks and connected instantly."

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Zoe Papadakis

Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.

© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.


TheWire
Legendary rocker Courtney Love has accused "Drivers License" hitmaker Olivia Rodrigo of "stealing" her band's artwork. Taking to social media, Love noted several similarities between her band Hole's album cover...
courtney love, olivia rodrigo, plagiarism
425
2021-59-28
Monday, 28 June 2021 09:59 AM
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