Following heated backlash from the Maldivian community, American singer Aaron Carter deleted the artwork allegedly stolen off local artist Ali Shimhaq, which he had posted on his Instagram feed.
Aaron Carter, younger brother of famous Backstreet Boys' artist Nick Carter, stated that he deleted the image due to being "bullied" with accusations of being an art thief.
I’m pulling the lion image I was accused of stealing this and bullied and I’m throwing it in the trash and suing everyone coming st me for clout I’m going to render a new one for myself pic.twitter.com/demnIHl22Z
— Aaroncarter (@aaroncarter) September 28, 2019
He further threatened to sue everyone who was calling him out and declared that he will render a new artwork for himself.
Original artist Shimhaq, who posted the digital artwork was alerted about Aaron Carter using the image by a twitter follower. Shimhaq then tweeted confirming that Carter was using his work without Shimhaq's knowledge.
When Shimhaq called Carter out for theft, Carter claimed he had rendered the artwork himself after he purchased the piece. However, Shimhaq stated that he never sold the painting or the rights to use the painting to any parties.
Prior to pulling the image from Instagram, Carter also edited the photo's caption claiming that "[he] now own[s]" the artwork, adding the hashtag #iamthelion at the end.
Nice caption edit, @aaroncarter. Now it's been changed from one lie to another. You didn't buy this off @shimhaq, the original artist = you don't own the art! pic.twitter.com/zFaFWse4Ao
— Cloud (@dxntcallmedevil) September 28, 2019
The Maldivian twitter community lashed back in Shimhaq's defence, demanding Carter to own up to his mistake and remove the artwork from his social media channels and website.
#AaronCarterArtThief is currently trending nationwide on Twitter.
Aaron Carter is a singer aged 31, who acquired fame during the 90s. He has released a total of five albums so far, the most recent one being 'Love' in 2018.
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