Posted on 03/01/2006 9:51:35 AM PST by pissant
FEBRARY 28--Actress Jessica Alba, who appears in a bikini on the cover of Playboy's March issue, is threatening to sue the magazine, claiming that Hugh Hefner & Co. are trying to make it seem that she appears in a "nude or semi-nude pictorial."
In a February 23 legal threat letter, a copy of which you'll find below, Alba's lawyer demands that Playboy cease distributing the magazine and provide the 25-year-old actress with a "monetary settlement" for its unauthorized use of her image for commercial purposes. According to Brian Wolf, Alba's counsel, the venerable men's magazine has caused the young star "immeasurable harm" by placing her on its cover (Alba appears next to a cover line billboarding a story on the 25 sexiest celebrities).
Wolf charges that Playboy initially offered to pay Alba to appear on the cover, but that they were flatly turned down. The magazine, he added, then resorted to a ruse to obtain a promotional photo of a bikini-clad Alba from Columbia Pictures. That sultry image, from the film "Into the Blue," appears on Playboy's cover.
Along with the legal letter from Wolf, a partner at the Los Angeles firm Lavely & Singer, Playboy also received a February 24 letter from a Columbia executive expressing the studio's dismay over the "outrageous, unethical behavior utilized by Playboy personnel to obtain" the Alba promotional photograph. While reserving its legal rights, the studio is demanding an apology for both it and Alba. (8 pages)
I don't know.
It appears to me that Alba really wants to avoid getting nude or even the idea of her getting nude both in her movies and in Playboy.
I think Playboy is in trouble here.
I think had playboy published candid public pictures of her they would be scott free, since she is a limited public person. Her lawyers have failed to state case law directly to the heart of the issue. If they had a case to cite, they would have. I think Playboy should call her bluff, Her buff I wish, and see if she will sue. My guess they won't because it would create more unwanted publicity.
I don't know how she can say this has caused "immeasurable harm".
It's her image. I guess.
She is still a public person. If she goes out to the beach, she cannot sue people who take her picture in public. The shot on the cover was a publicity still from a Studio, which owns that image, not Alba. Depending on her contract, she may not have standing against Playboy, but against Sony.
If that were the case, we would no magazines or newspapers, or TV.
we'll see.
It isn't as if it's Time or SI or something.
It's Playboy. It's fairly clear she doesn't want to be associated with them.
My guess is that they will settle out of court and print an apology.
"What has she ever done to distingush herself?"
Appeared on the cover of playboy of course..... ;-)
I'm glad she filed this suit. This is BLATANT false advertising on the part of Playboy. They should be ashamed.
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