What’s in a name? Well, in today’s world, we can say EVERYTHING! Especially for some individuals with celebrity status, the name they use is quite literally everything because that’s how they’re known and seen in the public’s eye. And this is the same thing we’re seeing with the case of Lexi Love lawsuit. Yes, this whole thing has now turned into a legal drama, where Clair Barnes claims that she has the right to this name, while on the other hand, Selena Scola is using this name for more than 20 years now. So, let’s see what became of all this.
How Did This Lexi Love Dispute Begin?
On one side, Selena Scola went on to say that she began using “Lexi Love” in 2004. She submitted an application to register it as a trademark in 2008; however, in 2015, it was canceled for failure to pay any renewal fee. Despite this, the plaintiff argues she has been using the name in her work ever since, thereby carrying common-law rights therein.
In February of 2024, Selena rushed to reapply for the trademark and got it back in March 2025 while season 17 of Drag Race was on air. In the following months, specifically August of 2025, cease-and-desist letters were sent to Barnes and the producers of Drag Race by her, demanding that they cease using the name.
Meanwhile, Clair Barnes has been busy with her Lexi Love persona since 2009. She got into the Drag Race cast in December 2024, and the season aired from January to April 2025. Just when her career had gained some momentum, this legal fight erupted.
What’s Selena Scola’s Argument?
The principle, aka argument, Selena offered was straightforward: Lexi Love is her professional name, and no one has a right to use it for any sort of recognition or remuneration. In August 2025, she had posted online one of her cease-and-desist letters, calling Barnes’ use of the name “unauthorized” and “nonconsensual.” The post soon went viral, racking up millions of views.
Further, she argues that Barnes’ narratives on Drag Race surrounding issues of being transgender, HIV-positive, and past hardships cause “brand confusion,” inasmuch as the audience considers these experiences as a part of her own life. To support her case, Selena shared her SAG-AFTRA card and cited a 2009 ruling affirming her rights to the domain LexiLove.com.
Selena, too, has a long history in entertainment. While working in the adult film industry, she worked in films such as Director’s Cut (2016) and Jexi (2019), lent her voice to a Grand Theft Auto V character, started a sustainable fashion line, and is an AI artist today. For her, Lexi Love covers around 20 years of working identity.
What’s Clair Barnes’ Side?
Clair Barnes refuses to give up the name. She insists she has been performing under the drag name Lexi Love since 2009, far before Selena reapplied for the trademark. To her, this feels like an erasure attempt on her career.
The fallout has been so massive. Barnes says she lost three gigs because of threatening emails sent by Selena. Her accounts on Twitter/X, Facebook, and Cameo were all suspended. Her songs she had released under the alias Lexi Love, were all taken out of Spotify and Apple Music. Years of work tied to her artist’s name disappeared almost overnight.
According to Barnes, she tried to solve her problem through a licensing deal or several other compromises. Selena, however, would not respond and kept reporting her accounts. Feeling cornered, Barnes considered going as far as holding a “Name Me” contest to come up with a new brand name, but she made it clear that the whole ordeal brought on so much stress.
