Lindsay Lohan. Photo courtesy of Day Herald.
Summary: Lindsay Lohan’s lawsuit against the makers of Grand Theft Auto V will move forward in New York.
It was a case that many thought was too frivolous to move forward. However, this week, a New York judge allowed Lindsay Lohan’s lawsuit against the companies behind Grand Theft Auto V to proceed, The Hollywood Reporter announced.
In 2014, the lawsuit-happy actress sued Take-Two and its subsidiary Rockstar Games alleging that Grand Theft Auto V features a character that stole her likeness. The blonde character named “Lacey Jonas” lives in the Chateau Marmont, where Lohan famously stayed, and has an abrasive, self-important Hollywood starlet personality, which Lohan seems to identity with. Additionally, blonde and busty Lacey’s most famous pose is her taking a selfie while making a peace sign, all while wearing a red bikini. Lohan says this is a rip off of a seflie she took in 2007.
Lindsay vs. Lacey. Photo courtesy of CNN.
Take-Two responded to the suit, saying that New York’s privacy laws against likeness appropriation do not apply to art. They also demanded sanctions against “meritless” claims. Additionally, the defendants used the fading starlet’s track record of filing lawsuits against her, and they said her suit “lacks good-faith” and was filed to garner publicity.
To recap, the sometimes blonde, sometimes redheaded Mean Girls actress unsuccessfully sued Pit Bull for mentioning her in a song and Fox News for referencing her alleged cocaine problems.
With Lohan’s reputation compounded with New York’s history of publicity laws not being as generous as California’s, it came as a shock to gamers when New York Supreme Court Judge Joan Kennedy ruled in favor of Lohan on Friday. Kennedy said that Lohan’s statements in her pleading was sufficient to deny the defendant’s motion to dismiss.
All of this means that Lohan’s lawsuit will get to advance, and the makers of Grand Theft Auto had better get ready to play.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter