A New York woman who claims she contracted herpes after attending a Rihanna concert earlier this month and sampling the singer's line of lipstick has sued MAC Cosmetics, the company that manufactures the makeup.
Starkeema Greenidge, 28, of Harlem, has filed suit in Manhattan's Supreme Court seeking unspecified damages for the "mental anguish and emotional distress" she suffered after catching the virus at a May 7 Rihanna concert in Brooklyn.
According to the suit, Greenidge stopped by a booth at the concert where MAC Cosmetics reps were selling the Rihanna-endorsed line of colors. One of the workers reportedly took a pre-used sample stick of "RiRi Woo" and applied it to Greenidge's lips.
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"[MAC] didn't use a fresh or new lipstick tube, but rather one that had been used for other patrons," the suit charges.
Two days later, Greenidge noticed cold sores on her lip.
"My upper lip was swollen with blisters," she told the New York Post.
A doctor confirmed it was herpes, an incurable viral disease.
"I wasn't able to work for two weeks. It cost me a lot of money," Greenidge told the New York Daily News. "This is going to happen over and over again if nothing is done."
Rihanna signed a deal with MAC Cosmetics in February to create her own cosmetics line. Her "RiRi Woo" lipstick was inspired by the singer’s favorite MAC red, "Ruby Woo," according to the company's announcement of the deal.
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The release of the Rihanna-endorsed beauty products coincided with the pop and R&B superstar's "Diamonds World Tour," which kicked off in March.
Neither Rihanna or MAC has commented on the lawsuit.
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