Kim Kardashian built SKIMS into a billion-dollar shapewear empire by selling one very specific fantasy. Everything is sleek, polished, perfectly fitted, and somehow always under control. Which is why 2026 is turning into a pretty brutal year for the brand’s image, because the paperwork piling up around SKIMS lately is not the glamorous kind.
It is lawsuits, penalties, wage complaints, and court filings, and the whole thing is starting to chip away at the hyper-curated “we’ve got this handled” vibe the company has spent years selling online.
Between a former employee accusing the company of labor violations, New Jersey regulators slapping the brand over allegedly charging taxes it should not have charged, and a designer claiming SKIMS hijacked her business name, the brand suddenly has lawyers attached to almost every headline. And honestly, for a company built on precision and control, the timing could not be messier.
So Who Is David Knight, and What Is He Claiming?
The newest legal headache comes from former SKIMS employee David Knight, who filed a lawsuit in California, accusing the company of several wage and labor violations during his short tenure there between October and December 2025.
According to the complaint reported by TMZ, Knight says he and other employees were allegedly denied overtime pay despite working more than eight hours a day and more than 40 hours a week. He also claims workers were not given legally required meal and rest breaks, were not properly paid minimum wage for all hours worked, and did not receive all wages owed after leaving the company.
And here is the part that instantly raises the stakes. Knight is not just suing over his own experience. He is seeking class-action status, meaning he believes these issues affected a wider group of SKIMS employees across California. So, what could have been dismissed as the complaint of one disgruntled former worker becomes a potentially much larger workplace issue.
Kim Kardashian is not personally named in the lawsuit, but let’s be real, her name is glued to SKIMS at this point. If the company trends, she trends right along with it, whether the headline is about shapewear drops or court documents.
What SKIMS Had To Say (And They Did Not Hold Back)
SKIMS responded to the lawsuit with a statement that practically sounded like someone had slammed a designer handbag onto a conference table before speaking. In a statement to TMZ, a company representative flatly denied the allegations and called the lawsuit “a boilerplate filing” recycled by plaintiffs’ firms across California in search of fast settlements. Basically, SKIMS looked at the complaint and said, “Yeah, we’re not folding over this one.”
The company doubled down, insisting it has “no interest in settling claims without merit” and that it has always complied with California wage-and-hour laws.
If you ask me, that is a way sharper response than the usual celebrity brand PR language, where companies typically hide behind vague “we take these matters seriously” statements while quietly praying the internet moves on. SKIMS came out swinging. Whether that confidence ages beautifully or horribly is anyone’s guess, as the case is brand new and no ruling has been made.
Wait, There Is More. The New Jersey Tax Drama
Before the wage lawsuit even hit headlines, SKIMS had already spent part of the year dealing with a completely different legal mess in New Jersey. And honestly, this one caught people off guard because it sounds like the kind of problem that comes from somebody clicking the wrong button and then somehow never fixing it for five straight years.
According to New Jersey regulators, SKIMS improperly charged sales tax on clothing purchases made in the state between 2019 and 2024, even though clothing is generally tax-exempt there.
That allegedly meant customers were quietly paying a 6.625% tax they legally should not have been charged in the first place. New Jersey’s attorney general described the practice as an “unconscionable business practice,” which is about as subtle as getting dragged in all caps on TikTok.
In January 2026, SKIMS agreed to pay a $200,000 civil penalty and committed to fixing its systems and refunding affected customers. The company reportedly already sent the collected taxes to the state and had started issuing refunds before the settlement became public. Still, five years is a long time for a “checkout error” to keep casually collecting money from shoppers.
And Then There Is the Designer Who Says SKIMS Stole Her Name
Just when the tax issue had settled down, another lawsuit surfaced, claiming something straight out of the brutal world of fashion branding. New York designer Denise Cesare filed a federal lawsuit against SKIMS in March 2026 over the company’s wildly popular “Fits Everybody” collection. According to Cesare, the phrase belongs to her brand, “Fits Everybody To A T,” which she says she has owned rights to for nearly a decade.
The lawsuit claims SKIMS’ use of “Fits Everybody” caused major confusion and seriously damaged her business. In fact, the complaint reportedly says the collection literally destroyed her business, which is about as direct as lawsuits get.
Cesare is asking the court to stop SKIMS from using the name entirely, along with damages based on profits from the collection and reimbursement of legal fees. She also claims she repeatedly warned both SKIMS and Kim Kardashian about her trademark rights before taking things to federal court. So far, neither Kardashian nor SKIMS has publicly responded to this specific case.
And Over at the Jenner House, the Lawsuits Are Stacking Up, Too
The legal drama is not stopping with Kim. Kylie Jenner has also been dealing with lawsuits from former household employees, and the timing is making the entire Kardashian-Jenner business universe look unusually chaotic.
In April and May 2026, two former housekeepers filed separate lawsuits alleging harassment, discrimination, retaliation, and wage violations related to work performed inside Jenner’s home.
The first lawsuit was filed by a former housekeeper, Angelica Vazquez, alleging harassment, discrimination, violence, and wrongful termination while working in Jenner’s household. That complaint includes claims of emotional distress, as she developed “anxiety, severe stress, and symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder.”
The second lawsuit came from Juana Delgado Soto, who sued Jenner, the founder of Kylie Jenner Inc., and several other parties, including household staff supervisors and service companies Tri Star Services and La Maison Family Services. Her complaint includes allegations involving racial discrimination, harassment, unpaid wages, and failures to prevent or address workplace concerns.
Soto also reportedly claims she handed Kylie Jenner a personal letter detailing her grievances before pursuing legal action, a detail that, if accurate, makes the situation considerably more complicated for the Jenner side.
Put all those lawsuits together, and they create a pretty uncomfortable pattern for businesses that have spent years selling perfection as part of their brand package.
What This All Adds Up To
Individually, every case still has to play out in court, and none of these allegations have been fully proven. But taken together, the headlines are starting to pile up in a way celebrity brands absolutely hate.
Now, these are not messy red-carpet moments or social media controversies that people forget in 48 hours. These are allegations tied to taxes, employee treatment, labor laws, and business practices that tend to stick around much longer than a bad Instagram comment section.
And honestly, that is where things get tricky for SKIMS. The brand became huge by convincing people it had mastered control, polish, and perfection down to the tiniest detail. Court filings do not care about aesthetic branding. They drag everything into public view, receipts and all.