Ashanti is certainly one of the most established female singers in the music industry right now. She also has a very dedicated and passionate fan following who keeps track of everything she is doing. Now everything is going well with her right now by the looks of it.
Prior to her getting her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, it was announced that Ashanti was releasing a children’s book. It was said that Ashanti would be honored this month for her contributions to several areas of the entertainment industry.
However, author Jamilah Thompkins-Bigelow claimed that Ashanti’s new children’s book, My Name is a Story, is a lot like her own titled Your Name is a Song.
Jamilah took to her social media and revealed the books’ cover art and descriptions. She then proceeded to accuse Ashanti of plagiarizing her book.
“I thought maybe I’m just making too big a deal about the title and cover being similar but then I read the description,” she said. In a screenshot, the synopsis states that the singer’s book is about the first day of school for a little girl named Ashanti who “feels like no one can pronounce” her name correctly. “Ashanti learns that names have meaning and deserve to be said and loved out loud. Her name tells a story.
What is my book about? About a girl on the first day of school whose name gets mispronounced and whose mother helps her to see the beauty and musicality of names,” said Jamilah. The description of her book shows that a little girl is frustrated with having her peers and teachers say her name incorrectly, so her mother tells her about “the beauty, history, and magic behind names.
I worked for over a year on that book. Took two years to find an agent and get it published and for some celebrity who probably didn’t even write it to just steal my idea. I am shaking.” She pointed out similarities including “the pose, the wind, first day of school, mom character, poetic language to honor names… yeah.
I went to bed in tears and was devastated by the lack of ethics and cynicism.”
We will have to wait and see whether Ashanti will address these accusations, as they are certainly very serious in nature. It is unlikely she will anytime soon by the looks of it.
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