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'GTA V' Character Doesn't Resemble Lindsay Lohan, Court Rules (rollingstone.com)

Posted by msmash on from the don't-think-so dept.

Actress Lindsay Lohan has failed in her latest attempt to sue the maker of the video game Grand Theft Auto V. From a report: While the court said in an opinion a computer generated image may be considered a "portrait" under current state civil rights law, "the artistic renderings are indistinct, satirical representations of the style, look, and persona of a modern, beach-going young woman that are not reasonably identifiable as the plaintiff." Lohan sued GTA V publisher Take-Two Interactive in 2014 over a NPC in the game called Lacey Jonas. Players encounter her while she's hiding in an alley from the paparazzi. She describes herself as an "actress slash singer" and the "voice of a generation."

Artwork during the game's loading screens depict similar blonde women. One is wearing a red bikini and flashing a peace sign as she takes a selfie. Another wears a fedora and large sunglasses while being frisked by a female police officer. Lohan claimed developer Rockstar Games modelled the character and screens after her, using her "image, likeness, clothing, outfits, clothing line products, and ensemble in the form of hats, hairstyle, and sunglasses" without her permission.

2 of 67 comments (clear)

  1. How is this even a case? by RazorSharp · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I don't know why it matters whether the NPC resembles her or not. They could have made it look even more like her and it wouldn't be a case. The protections for parody are very broad, especially when directed at public figures.

    --
    "From the depths of my skeptical and rationalist soul, I ask the Lord to protect me from California touchie-feeliedom."
    1. Re:How is this even a case? by alvinrod · · Score: 4, Insightful

      It's been a while since I played the game, but the character seemed to be a generalization of several different actresses who were relatively successful or well known before getting heavily into drugs or alcohol and tanking their careers. It seems like every five years or so there's a new starlet that goes down the exact same path.