Outrageous Celeb Lawsuits
Outrageous Celeb Lawsuits. Most of the time, being famous means enjoying the great perks of celebrity, from fancy parties to extravagant vacations. But given the high stakes in Hollywood, celebs are often embroiled in outrageous lawsuits, whether they're targeted by other people or filing the lawsuits themselves. Check out some of the most outrageous celeb litigation to have graced the docket, and then use the power of Bing to learn more about 'em.
Here's yet another sign that the Kardashians are taking over the planet: Kim Kardashian is suing on grounds that someone looks too much like her -- and that a certain
clothing chain is trying to profit off that resemblance. (Just think what she would've done if they had copied her butt.)
They say there's no use crying over spilt milk, but you can sue over being associated with "milkaholism." Just ask Lindsay Lohan, who sued E-Trade because she felt a 2010 Super Bowl commercial featuring a boyfriend-stealing, milk-addicted baby named Lindsay was based on her.
When Taco Bell unveiled an ad campaign based around jokingly asking rapper 50 Cent to change his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent or 99 Cent, Fiddy decided to run to the courthouse (not the border) and slap the fast food chain with a lawsuit for using his name without his permission.
When Oprah speaks, people listen. That's why Texas cattle ranchers were up in arms when an episode of Oprah's show focused on the negative aspects of the beef industry and, according to the ranchers, caused it to become less profitable. Oprah moved her show to Texas for the duration of the trial.
They say a picture is worth 1,000 words, but according to this class action suit, a photo of Miley Cyrus making slant eyes is worth $4 billion. Yep, in 2009, a Los Angeles woman accused Cyrus of racist acts against Asian and Pacific Islander people when she posed for a photo by squinting her eyes.
Charlie Sheen is busy suing "Two and a Half Men" right now, but earlier this year, he was slapped with a lawsuit related to another TV show -- supposedly. Reality TV producer Ed Meyer alleged that the actor thwarted the production of a series based on Sheen's uncle, Joe Estevez, and asked him to cough up $10 million in damages.
Sure, Britney Spears's ex-bodyguard claims the pop star farts a lot, picks her nose and hardly showers, but what's the real focus of his lawsuit? (Grossness isn't against the law, folks.) The bodyguard ultimately alleged that Spears harassed him.
"Gossip Girl" would have a field day with Leighton Meester's scandalous familial legal battle. When the actress accused her mother of paying for plastic surgery with money that should have funded her younger brother's medical care, Mrs. Meester fired back with a countersuit and an assault allegation.
Jay-Z rocks lots of bling, but one particular diamond put him in a headlock -- and in a court case -- with former pro wrestler Diamond Dallas Page. The plaintiff alleged that Jay-Z infringed on a copyrighted "diamond cutter" hand gesture.
While we couldn't sue Tara Reid for burning the image of her naked boob into our eyes after her dress fell off on the red carpet, the actress went after a Las Vegas condo company for using the faux pas in its favor. Reid claimed the "Let it all hang out" slogan, when combined with her boob flash photo, implied that she was sexually lewd or immoral.
Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" act didn't win him any friends, but it did score him a lawsuit from Richelle Olson, who claims she was confined to a wheelchair as a result of a stunt Cohen pulled during a bingo game. Olson claimed that she suffered from brain bleeding as a result of a scuffle with the "Bruno" film crew.
Courtney Love is no stranger to legal trouble, so it's not surprising that she has an excuse for everything. When she was sued for not paying her $352,059.67 American Express bill, she claimed the charges were false and that cards had been issued in her name without her consent -- and slapped the company with a countersuit.
Greed wasn't good for Michael Douglas when ex-wife Diandra Luker took him to court for earnings related to last year's "Wall Street" sequel. According to Luker, she was entitled to profits relating to spinoffs and sequels to movies released during the couple's marriage. According to Douglas, she was emphatically not.
Everyone has wanted to be like Michael Jordan -- except for Portland, Ore., resident Allen Heckard. He slapped the basketball great with a lawsuit on grounds that people thought he looked like Jordan, even though he was several inches shorter than the basketball great.
Bette Midler's voice is so distinctive that the legendary singer has made bank when other singers simply sound like her. In 1989, Midler sued an ad agency for producing a commercial that featured one of her hits sung by someone instructed to imitate Midler's inflections.
Nicolas Cage didn't send Kathleen Turner flowers to celebrate her autobiography, Send Yourself Roses. Instead, he sent her legal papers for a defamation and libel case on the grounds that she claimed he had been arrested twice for drunken driving and that he once stole a Chihuahua.
Johnny Carson didn't want his career doing down the crapper, so when a company named its product the Here's Johnny Portable Toilet, he sent his lawyers after them for violating his right to privacy.
"Basketball Wives" stars sure do love to sue one another. But perhaps the best was when Evelyn Lozada (left) filed a grievance against show reject Vanessa Davis for this high school-esque transgression: The former claims the latter leaked nude photos as revenge for not getting chosen for the show.
Wikipedia may be open for anyone to edit, but that didn't stop "Office Space" actor Ron Livingston from suing a man who edited Livingston's Wikipedia page to say that they were in a relationship together. Livingston, who is married to a woman, sued for libel and invasion of privacy.
After 28 years, rock band Men at Work probably thought it was in the clear. But alas, the group eventually found itself up a tree with a lawsuit over whether its '80s hit "(Land) Down Under" illegally lifted the melody of a seminal Australian song "Kookaburra."
Source: wonderwall
