TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Luke Combs’ online store has started selling a new tumbler themed around the country star to raise money for a Pinellas County woman who was ordered to pay him $250,000 in a lawsuit.
Nicol Harness turned to 8 On Your Side investigator Shannon Behnken after learning she had been sued for selling counterfeit merchandise. Harness said she suffers from congestive heart failure and her only job is selling homemade tumblers and T-shirts through Amazon.
She is a fan of Combs, and started offering a Luke Combs-themed tumbler after he performed in Tampa this summer. She told Behnken she bought artwork online and sold 18 tumblers for $20 a piece.
Harness learned Combs sued her in federal court in Illinois along with others for selling counterfeit merchandise. However, by the time she found out about the suit, the case had already been closed, and she was ordered to pay the singer $250,000.
After hearing about the debacle, Combs took to social media Wednesday morning, saying that the story was the first thing he saw when he woke up. He said the situation made him “absolutely sick to (his) stomach.”
“Again, this is unbelievable. I was completely shocked when I saw this this morning,” Combs said. “(It) makes me sick. This is not something that I would ever do. This is not the kind of person I am. I’m not greedy in any way, shape, or form. Money is the last thing on my mind.”
Combs said he has a company that goes after people who are selling counterfeit T-shirts, but added that they’re “only supposedly large corporations operating internationally that make millions and millions of dollars” that the company is supposed to go after.
In the video, Combs shared that he’d spoken with Harness and promised to send her $11,000, double the amount she said was locked up in her Amazon account. But his generosity doesn’t stop there.
Later Wednesday, Combs took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and shared a link to a special Luke Combs-themed tumbler for sale on his website. The 14oz tumblers are $20 each. He said all of the proceeds will go to Harness to help cover her medical bills.
“Tumbler pre-order is live. All proceeds from this product will be donated to Nicol Harness and her family,” the post said.
You can view the tumblers on Luke Combs’ website here.