It’s unsettling to watch someone else’s creativity become another person’s business opportunity. Inspiration is one thing, but taking what someone has worked tirelessly to create, reproducing it, and profiting from the final product without acknowledging its origin is something else entirely.
On Sept. 26, I posted on Threads, “I don’t like how folks are bootlegging @iamtabithabrown’s God is Love necklace.” The following day, Tabitha Brown appeared in my replies with a simple response: “I feel the same🥹.”
That’s all she said, but I imagined there was much more behind those four words and an emoji. So, I reached out to Brown to discuss the necklace, the people reproducing it, and how she reconciles the desire to spread love through her creations with the business of protecting them. After all, few people understand the commercial value of being unapologetically yourself quite like Tabitha Brown.
The North Carolina native has charmed millions with her warm smile, perfectly coiffed hair, colorful outfits that seemingly nobody else could pull off quite like she does, and the comforting cadence of a sista who always knows exactly what you need to hear. Her appeal has never depended on being overly polished or adopting a personality that conforms to traditional expectations of celebrity. Instead, Brown has invited people to embrace the fullness of who she is, and they’ve responded by celebrating her for it.
That authenticity has become the foundation of an impressive career. Brown is a two-time Children’s & Family Emmy winner for her children’s series, Tab Time, a bestselling author, actress, and entrepreneur whose ventures span beauty, fragrance, fashion, food, and lifestyle products. Her Donna’s Recipe hair care brand, co-founded with Gina Woods, has become a household favorite in my family, while her Fridays with Tab and Chance collection extends her entrepreneurial pursuits into fragrances and other products alongside her husband, Chance Brown.
Then there were her Target collections, which became store staples before many of us joined the retailer’s DEI-related boycott. Brown brought her distinctive aesthetic to clothing, home decor, vegan food products, and kitchenware, demonstrating that the things that made her different could also make her remarkably successful.
That’s possibly the most important lesson in Brown’s rise. She didn’t have to abandon her personality, soften her Southern charm, or conceal the seemingly unconventional parts of herself to become marketable. She showed up as Tabitha, allowed people to see her, and built an empire around the qualities that made her unmistakably herself.
When authenticity becomes a marketable commodity, though, what happens when other people attempt to duplicate the products associated with it?
The Love Story Behind Tabitha Brown’s Signature Necklace
Before the “God Is Love” necklace became available for purchase, it was a deeply personal expression of Brown’s faith and her relationship with her husband.
The inspiration dates back to 2017, when Brown made the decision to begin living in a way she believed aligned with the person God created her to be. During that period, 1 John 4:16, which declares that God is love, became her favorite Bible verse.
“I wanted to not just show love to people but be love,” Brown told I Love Us in an exclusive email interview.
She explained that she shared an idea with Chance for a necklace featuring the words “God Is” accompanied by a heart, incorporating a diamond and ruby into its design. Her husband took that vision and had the piece made, surprising her with the sentimental gift on Christmas Day in 2021.
For years, Brown wore the necklace as she continued building her career. Eventually, requests from admirers who wanted one of their own inspired her to produce a version for sale, hoping to extend the message of love that made the original so meaningful.
“I never imagined that!” Brown said when asked whether she expected the necklace to become such a recognizable part of her identity. “But I’m so grateful that something so special is part of my identity.”
The necklace’s popularity speaks to the unique connection Brown has cultivated with her audience. People aren’t just purchasing jewelry bearing a familiar phrase. They’re participating in a message that Brown has embodied throughout her career, one that encourages people to approach themselves and others with compassion.
Yet, the very recognition that made the necklace desirable also made its design appealing to people interested in reproducing it. Brown explained that this isn’t her first experience with others attempting to capitalize on her creations. She has dealt with similar situations involving her T-shirts, including designs she has pursued trademark protection for over the years. She admitted that she once became particularly upset when people duplicated her merchandise because of the extensive work required to create a brand and develop products that genuinely reflected who she was. However, her perspective has evolved.
“But at the same time it’s flattering to see that I have built a brand that is so successful people try to duplicate and capitalize on it,” she said.
I can appreciate Brown’s outlook, even if I don’t entirely share it. I don’t necessarily believe imitation is flattery. Too often, what we call imitation is simply the commodification of someone else’s creativity, where the potential for profit matters more than the person who created it.
To me, inspiration and commodification are two entirely different things. Inspiration acknowledges that someone else’s work has moved us enough to create something of our own. It allows us to build upon ideas, reinterpret them through our own experiences, and contribute something new to the conversation. Commodification, on the other hand, can reduce someone’s creativity to its market value, separating the finished product from the person, purpose, and labor that gave it meaning.
I don’t believe creativity exists in a vacuum. We’re all influenced by the people, places, and ideas we encounter. However, there’s a difference between honoring those influences and exploiting them. When someone sees another person’s creation and asks, “What can I make because this inspired me?” that’s one thing. When the question becomes, “How can I make money selling what they’ve already created?” we’ve entered entirely different territory.
When the original creator is left out of that equation, I struggle to see where the flattery comes in.
The Cost Of Creativity And The Importance Of Giving Credit
One of the things we often overlook when discussing plagiarism and imitation is the amount of life someone has to live before they can create something worth copying.
Our creations are rarely isolated ideas that appear out of thin air. They are unique amalgamations of our experiences, cultures, interests, relationships, and the countless people who have shaped our understanding of the world. The things we make are often informed by the things we’ve survived, the wisdom we’ve inherited, and the questions we’ve spent years attempting to answer. When someone reproduces a creation without acknowledging its origins, the final product may survive, but the context that gives it significance can disappear.
Brown echoed that sentiment when I asked what gets lost when people embrace something without recognizing its creator. “I think the origin story, the work and the truth gets lost,” she explained. “If you don’t know who created it and why, it really has no true meaning. “Her response points to something larger than intellectual property. It’s about the cultural responsibility of acknowledging the people whose work, ideas, and experiences inform the things we consume.
I’ve often thought about cultural worker and Hoodoo practitioner Sara Makeba Daise’s assertion that “citation is a Hoodoo ethic.” The sentiment reminds us that acknowledging the sources of our knowledge and inspiration can be an act of respect, reverence, and acknowledgement of our influences.
There is no shame in being influenced by someone else’s creativity. In fact, very little of what we create exists without some influence from the people and ideas that preceded us. The problem arises when people intentionally obscure those influences or misrepresent another person’s labor as their own.
In Brown’s case, the words “God is love” belong to a centuries-old religious text and aren’t hers to exclusively claim. However, the particular necklace she envisioned, the intimate story behind its creation, and the role it has played in establishing her public identity are distinctly connected to her. A similar-looking piece of jewelry might reproduce the aesthetic, but it cannot reproduce the Christmas morning when Chance surprised his wife with a gift inspired by her faith. Nor can it recreate the years Brown spent wearing that gift, sharing her message, and building relationships with the people who now associate it with her. Creativity is ultimately about more than arriving at a finished product. It’s about the person and process responsible for bringing something into existence.
There is also a financial reality worth considering. For independent artists, writers, designers, and other creators, intellectual property can represent years of labor and a substantial portion of their livelihoods. Watching another person profit from that work without permission or acknowledgment can carry consequences beyond hurt feelings. When I asked Brown where she draws the line between inspiration and imitation, particularly when creativity is also someone’s livelihood, she emphasized the importance of establishing legal protections.
“In business you can only draw the line with business and that means trademark, copyright, get great lawyers and protect yourself,” she said.
Of course, not every concept, phrase, or aesthetic qualifies for legal protection. Copyright and trademark laws serve different purposes, and not every imitation constitutes infringement. Still, understanding which protections apply to a particular creation is an important part of operating a creative business. Brown acknowledged that navigating those safeguards can be frustrating and time-consuming, but she believes the investment is worth making.
“Also call people out when they steal! Creators work too hard on their brands for them to just be stolen.”
It’s an important reminder that creators should not be expected to accept the unauthorized appropriation of their work as an inevitable consequence of success. There is room to appreciate the influence of one’s creations while also establishing boundaries around how they can be used.
You Can Replicate The Product, But Not The Person
Brown’s approach to protecting her creative legacy is surprisingly straightforward. Rather than allowing concerns about imitation to dominate her creative process, she prioritizes continuing to build while applying lessons she’s learned about protecting her business.
“I honestly just keep doing the work and incorporate legal protection as I have learned to do over the years,” she explained.
Her response offers an important distinction between protecting creativity and becoming so consumed with the possibility of someone stealing it that we stop sharing our ideas altogether.
The temptation to become overly protective can come very easily for creatives. It can be frustrating to see original ideas and words circulated without attribution. The thought of somebody else receiving recognition, opportunities, or financial rewards for work they didn’t create can make even the most generous person reluctant to share. However, the fear of being copied can also become its own kind of limitation.
We can become so preoccupied with the possibility of someone taking our ideas that we never give those ideas the opportunity to flourish. We withhold our work, conceal our talents, and sometimes convince ourselves that remaining unseen is the best way to preserve what makes us special.
Brown’s career provides a compelling counterargument. Her success wasn’t built on waiting until she could guarantee that nobody would imitate her. It came from consistently showing up as herself, embracing the qualities that distinguished her, and allowing the people who connected with her to find her. Just be, and let your people find you.
There is only so much we can control about how other people interact with our creations. We can document our work, establish legal protections, demand proper attribution, and hold people accountable when they cross boundaries. We cannot prevent everyone from being influenced by what we put into the world, nor should we allow that possibility to dictate whether we create at all. Creators shouldn’t surrender ideas or become comfortable with exploitation.The point is that protecting our creativity should never require us to sacrifice the freedom to express it.
There’s a reason Brown’s fans recognize her influence in everything from a bottle of perfume with an afro to a colorful outfit, or a necklace bearing a message of love. Her success is the culmination of years spent building a relationship with people who appreciate her distinct personality, perspectives, and the meaning she brings to her work. A vendor can reproduce the appearance of a necklace, but reproducing the relationship between Brown and the people who love her is another matter entirely. In this era when almost anything can become a trend, an aesthetic, or a product to be replicated, it’s something worth remembering.
For those who want to support Brown’s original creations, her signature “God Is Love” necklaces are available through the Fridays with Tab and Chance website. Both the gold and platinum versions are currently marked down 20%, from $65 to $52, with additional discounts across the collection. The offers follow Brown’s recent public updates about recovering from hip surgery.
Brown has been candid with supporters about her health journey, including undergoing hip replacement surgery after dealing with persistent hip problems. We wish Tab continued healing, plenty of rest, and a smooth recovery as she navigates this transition.
If there’s one lesson to take away from our conversation, it’s that the people who create deserve more than admiration for the finished product. They deserve recognition for the experiences, labor, and imagination that brought it into existence.
Also, while you might be able to copy the necklace, you will never be able to make another Tabitha Brown!
Images provided by Fridays with Tab & Chance
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