Cardi B has been threatened with legal action by an Italian artist for allegedly recreating artwork depicting Marge Simpson wearing a bottom-revealing Thierry Mugler dress, without permission.

It comes after the rapper recreated Alexsandro Palombo’s 2013 work in the form of The Simpsons character, in an Instagram post she shared on Halloween.

Cardi B’s post showed her made up as Marge, with her back to the camera to show off the cut-out bottom, just as in Palombo’s original artwork, which was pictured in the background.

The original artwork was created by Palombo as part of his Marge Simpson Style Icon series, which transformed Marge into in a style icon, while reflecting on women’s emancipation and gender equality, according to Sky News.

Responding to Cardi B’s original post, Palombo said: “We wrote to Mrs Cardi B and collaborators how come that they never contacted us for authorisation to use the artwork and didn’t mention or credit the artist, violating Meta policy about intellectual property rights. Still no answer…

“Cardi B and her collaborators have used my artwork without any authorization, debasing its original meaning and only to amplify their image with a clear commercial purpose that has nothing to do with that path of social awareness that has always characterized my works.

“(Extra)ordinary people are welcome to use my artworks images for personal and non-commercial purposes. To everyone else: Stop stealing [from] artists.”

His lawyer, Claudio Volpi, also told Sky News: “Cardi B has illegitimately appropriated the work of Alexsandro Palombo for mere business purposes in defiance of the most elementary rules on copyright and Instagram policies, with the consequent serious risks, both of compensation and of discredit for her public image”.

The lawsuit is not yet believed to have been filed.