Most of you will remember that we recently interviewed coke-rapper Rick Ross for the eModa Lifestyle Magazine, during which we talked to him about his style preferences. Well, we may have spoken too soon…Rick Ross has recently been called out by the legal team of Louis Vuitton for wearing knock-off shades on the cover of the June issue of XXL Magazine. The following is an excerpt from the luxury goods purveyors sent to the editors of the mag:

“…the sunglasses Mr. Ross is wearing were not made by Louis Vuitton and, in fact, are counterfeit. Louis Vuitton did not grant permission to Mr. Ross or to whoever did make the sunglasses to use our trademarks. The second is that no affiliation, sponsorship or association exists between Rick Ross or XXL and Louis Vuitton. The third is that counterfeiting is illegal.”

How could this be? Ross is very well known for bragging incessantly about the fortune he’s (allegedly) acquired as a former narcotics boss. His explanation for the fashion faux-pas comes from Jacob Bernstein a/k/a “The Sunglasses Pimp”, who claims the glasses in question are genuine and have simply been augmented with custom details:

“It’s the same thing as buying a Rolls-Royce and having it tricked out,” Bernstein explained to the Web site. “Just because the product has been customized by me doesn’t take away from the fact that the frames are authentic Louis Vuitton Millionaires.”

Is it really the same, though? I mean, at $1200 per pair, the Louis Vuitton Millionare Sunglasses come pretty tricked out already…why the need to alter them? Also, it’s pretty interesting that the main thing Ross had done to the glasses was the addition of a bar with the company’s name engraved on the side…maybe he wants everyone to know he’s rockin’ LVs. Above right is a picture of the actual Millionaire glasses…we’ll let you be the judge.