Los Angeles-based American Apparel, whose advertising campaigns often garner media and social scrutiny, has now found itself in the middle of another lawsuit. Woody Allen is suing the frequently scandal-embroiled T-shirt and clothing company for $10 million in damages. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, involves the clothing companies use of his likeness on prominent New York and Los Angeles billboards, as well as in Internet advertising.
The award-winning writer and director says he did not consent to the companies use of his likeness from the 1972 film “Annie Hall.” According to the associated press, Allen appears on the billboard dressed as an Hasidic Jew with Yiddish text that translates to “the holy rebbe,” meaning master, teacher or mentor.
Though no stranger to controversy, Allen filed the suit against the company which states, “Allen does not engage in the commercial endorsement of products or services in the United States,” and further American Apparel’s Allen ad campaign is a, “blatant misappropriation and commercial use of Allen’s image.” In the end, the $10 million price tag may not be that costly for a company that thrives on controversy, and can still report more than $110 million in fourth quarter sales—a 46% increase from the same quarter last year.
