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Luke Combs responded to a lawsuit against a fan that he said makes him “sick to my stomach.”
Combs said in a video he posted on his social media channels on Wednesday morning (December 13) that he woke up around 5 a.m. to use the restroom, and the first thing he saw was a report by Tampa, Florida-based NBC affiliate WFLA-TV, 8 On Your Side. The report, posted on Tuesday evening (December 12), states that Florida resident Nicol Harness is a Combs fan who, along with other defendants, was apparently sued by the singer in a federal court in Illinois for allegedly selling counterfeit merchandise. The judge ordered Harness and each of the others named in the lawsuit to pay Combs $250,000 in the already-closed case.
Harness, who suffers from congestive heart failure, said she was in the hospital when the notice of the suit was delivered to the junk folder of an email account that isn’t her primary address. She said never got the opportunity to respond. She told WFLA-TV that the lawsuit has been, “very stressful. I don’t have money to pay my bills. I just want this resolved. I didn’t mean any harm to Luke Combs. I quit selling the tumbler. I pulled it down.” The WFLA-TV report notes that Consumer Investigator Shannon Behnken contacted the attorney representing the “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old” star in the case and hadn’t heard back as of publication time. The report also noted that it wasn't immediately clear whether Combs himself was aware of the lawsuit.
This morning, however, the award-winning artist said he was “completely and utterly unaware of this.”
Combs filmed a video in response to the lawsuit at 7:27 a.m. in Tennessee, after seeing the report around 5 a.m. and springing into action. He said he’d “spent the last two hours trying to make this right.” Combs said first, his manager contacted WFLA-TV to get more information. He explained, “we do have a company that goes after folks, only supposedly large corporations operating internationally that make millions and millions of dollars making counterfeit t-shirts (and) things of that nature. Running illegal businesses. And apparently, this woman, Nicol, has somehow gotten wrapped into that. And that makes me absolutely sick to my stomach.”
Combs said he managed to track down Harness’ phone number and speak with her. He said she was “shocked,” and he was “so apologetic. …It makes me sick, honestly, that this would happen, especially at the holidays. I can’t imagine being in her shoes.”
Combs pledged to send Harness money today, doubling the amount she’s lost access to in her online account where she sells the products. He also said that, because Harness’ Combs-themed tumblers got her “in trouble,” he plans to offer tumblers of his own with proceeds going to the Florida woman and her family to help cover medical bills. Combs said he hopes that “can help her out.” Harness said she bought the artwork for her products online and made a total of $380 on the tumblers, per WFLA-TV.
“She was never supposed to be involved in anything like this,” Combs said. “No fan should ever have to be involved in anything like this. ...This is unbelievable. I was completely shocked when I saw this this morning. It makes me sick.
“This is not something that I would ever do. This is not the kind of person I am,” Combs continued. “I’m not greedy in any way, shape or form. Money is the last thing on my mind. I promise you guys that. …I just wanted to clear that up, man, because it makes me sick for anybody to be thinking that I’m this kind of person because I’m the farthest thing from it.”
Combs said he invited Harness and her family to a show so he can “give her a hug and say sorry in person.”
WFLA-TV posted another story on Wednesday morning to share Combs' response. The station noted as of publication time to check back for updates.