The Weeknd Accused Of Ripping Off 'Starboy' From Comic Book Creator

The Weeknd has been accused of stealing a comic book creator’s idea for “Starboy” and making it his own.

Eymun Talasazan, who has been in the comic book industry for more than 10 years, states in court documents that he came up with an idea to create a new type of comic book superhero characters centered on the rap/R&B music industry, The Blast reported.

Four years ago, Talasazan created the concept for his comic book and worked on it for years and claims he discussed it with the late Stan Lee. He reportedly planned to fill his comic book series with real-life musicians, as well as fictional characters inspired by the music industry. One such musician would be The Weeknd, with whom Talasazan claims he discussed the idea of a character named “Starboy” based on the crooner’s song.

After pitching the idea to The Weeknd, whose real name is Abel Tesfaye, and his people, Talasazan claims all conversations ceased. He planned to proceed without the musician and file a trademark the name. In 2018, however, Talasazan claimed The Weeknd published his comic book series named “Starboy” that had a “near-identical premise” to his original pitch.

Talasazan is seeking an injunction against The Weeknd to prevent him from selling his comics. He also wants The Weeknd’s profits to be turned over and to receive damages.

Earlier this year, The Weeknd, through his company XO Trademarks LLC, filed docs to oppose Talasazan’s trademark application for “Starboy.” The singer demanded the trademark application be denied.

The case is still pending.

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