UPDATE: Weinye posted on her Instagram account last night that she and Domino's Chile had settled on an undisclosed compensation fee. She also addressed that she agreed to remove the posts about the issue. She said the agency that Represents Domino's was "very apologetic, courteous, understanding, and cooperative." It looks like the issue was resolved amicably, and unlike many instances, the artist actually came out on top.
It's some kind of awful when someone takes credit for your creative work. It's even worse when a big company does it.
Domino's Pizza in Chile is being accused of stealing a pizza drawing by Weinye Chen, making a few design changes to it, then posting it to their Facebook page.
Weinye's drawing poked fun at the "Distracted boyfriend" meme, as she drew a guy staring down a slice of pizza while his girlfriend looked on in shock and disagreement.
Domino's posted a clearly similar drawing, changing up the colors a bit, adding sunglasses to the man, and included a Domino's shop in the background.
When a fan of Weinye messaged Domino's, calling them out for plagiarism, the page snarkily responded with, "memes are memes."
This is the screenshot that a follower of mine took when she asked @dominos why they steal content. They replied, "memes are memes." This comment has since been deleted by #Dominos pic.twitter.com/vn6brBtp19
— It's Weinye (@itsweinye) February 25, 2018
While the message has since been deleted, the fan's screenshot remains, and the ridicule continues as fans have been roasting the pizza chain, even on its main U.S. account:
— Jackson (@Jacksooni_) February 27, 2018
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Nah Saturdays are for stealing @itsweinye art right? 'Memes are memes' right? pic.twitter.com/j2bptsNzGV
— Bulba (@Bulba_Babe) February 25, 2018
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Shitty service and stealing other people’s work? Why do people order pizza from Dominos lmao
— Tate (@MeleeBroHD) February 26, 2018
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Hey domino's, try contacting your business in Chile to tell them to stop stealing and tracing art for their promotions
— lettuce oil for tommy (@purplewoofer) February 26, 2018
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At least there are some people who still care about giving credit where credit is due. Memes are memes, but it's a little different when someone's art is involved.
