Luke Combs Feels Terrible About Suing Fan for $250K

Luke Combs says he had no idea he was suing a fan who sold beverage tumblers with his likeness on them, and was devastated when he saw an interview with the woman after she was ordered to pay him $250,000. Nicol Harness lives in Illinois, where it recently became legal to serve someone notice of a lawsuit via email—the email in question went to her spam folder, so she had no idea she was being sued until she returned home after a hospital stay to discover she could not access the money she had earned through the Amazon storefront where she sells homemade tumblers and T-shirts, she tells WFLA. Her emotional interview with the station went viral, and Combs responded Wednesday on social media assuring fans he would make things right, USA Today reports.

"We do have a company that goes after folks—supposedly large corporations operating internationally—that make millions and millions of dollars making counterfeit t-shirts, things of that nature, running illegal businesses, and apparently this woman, Nicol, has somehow gotten wrapped into that," the country star explained. "That makes me absolutely sick to my stomach." As the AP explains, Harness was sued alongside 45 other entities, most of which appear to be large operations running out of Asia—not Combs fans with small business sales amounting to just $380, which is what Harness said she made off her tumblers.

In his video, Combs said he'd spoken to Harness and promised to send $11,000 immediately—double the amount that was frozen in her Amazon account, leaving her unable to pay her bills—as well as start selling his own tumbler and send her the proceeds to go toward her medical bills, People reports. As for the $250,000, which the judge ordered to be seized from Harness' Amazon sales, TMZ puts it thusly: "The lawsuit is still playing out in court, but Luke makes it seem like she won't have to fork over $250K when the dust settles." Combs also says he'll fly Harness and her family out to a concert so he can meet her. (More Luke Combs stories.)