“Real Housewives of New York City” star Kelly Bensimon has been sued for stealing a jewelry line from a former colleague.
Celeste Greenberg, who worked at Elle Accessories when Bensimon was editor-in-chief, later created an accessories line called Tuleste Market. Apparently, while Greenberg was still with Elle Accessories, she discovered a vintage owl pendant and gave it to Bensimon to wear for photo shoots and media appearances.
Greenberg alleges that she and Bensimon made an oral agreement to design and manufacture a replica of the owl together, splitting any profits. Greenberg is now suing Bensimon, claiming that Bensimon went ahead and manufactured the pendant on her own, cutting Greenberg out. Bensimon currently sells the owl for $325 under her own jewelry line.
Bensimon’s spokesperson told Page Six: “This girl used to work at Elle Accessories with Kelly. Kelly went out of her way to book her for freelance gigs. They went their separate ways. Now she’s coming after her because she needs money and Kelly’s name is in the press. There’s no validity to this. They never had an agreement about anything.”
In other courthouse news: Bensimon recently entered a not-guilty plea on a misdemeanor charge for allegedly battering boyfriend Nick Stefanov.
