Big Pun's Widow Reportedly Suing Wal-Mart For Using His Image On Clothing

BYAron A.3.6K Views
Link Copied to Clipboard!
Hiroyuki Ito/Getty Image
Big Pun (Christopher Lee Rios) and Fat Joe (Joseph Antonio Cartagena) performing at Les Poulets on May 13, 1998.This image:Big Pun (Christopher Lee Rios).
Big Pun's wife isn't happy with Wal-Mart unauthorized use of her late husband's image.

Big Pun's undoubtedly one of the greatest emcees to ever step foot in a booth. The rapper may have died too early but his legacy still lives years after his death. While his face and image are used on clothing to pay homage to the late rapper, his wife seems to be having an issue with a certain retailer selling them. 

Big Pun's widow is reportedly suing Wal-Mart for using the rapper's image on their clothing, TMZ reports. Liza Rios is getting at Wal-Mart for using pictures and logos of the rapper for a line of clothing and merchandise their selling. According to the report, she's saying they completely lifted the trademark she received after Pun's death. The image is a silhouette of Big Pun is a Jordan brand pose with a microphone in his hand instead of a basketball in front of the words "Big Pun."

While the report says that she'll be taking Wal-Mart to court, the clothes were actually made by a company RedBubble. Liza is suing them as well.

According to the suit, both companies willfully infringed on the trademark and have complete knowledge that they lifted the logo from Big Pun's brand and continue to use his logo without the right authorization. She's now suing them for all profits made from the shirts as well as any other sales in the future. In addition, she's looking for $10M in statutory damages from RedBubble and another manufacturing company, Cloudfare. However, Wal-Mart is reportedly clear from that.


About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.
...