A judge dismissed Hollywood actress Lindsay Lohan‘s case against Miami rapper Pitbull.
The starlet sued Pitbull, born Armando Perez, in 2011 for referencing her in his hit song “Give Me Everything.” In the song, he Pitbull quips: “I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan.” She claimed that he had no right to profit off her name as she hadn’t given him clearance to use it. Pitbull counter-sued at the time, claiming that because Lohan lived predominantly in California, she should not be eligible to file suit in New York state court.
Yesterday, Judge Denis Hurley decided that Lohan’s publicit-privacy rights claim, which was based on a provision of New York Civil Rights law, cannot be applied to works of art, due to the First Amendment. “The fact that the song was presumably created and distributed for the purpose of making a profit does not mean that plaintiff’s name was used for ‘advertising’ or ‘purposes of trade’ within the meaning of the New York Civil Rights Law,” Hurley also stated.
The judge also dismissed Lohan’s claims that she suffered “emotional distress” due to the song.
Adding insult to injury, Lohan’s lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, was sanctioned for plagiarism after it was reported that her court briefs were copied from newspapers, law firms and other education websites. She was fined $750 for an “affront to the Court.”
Here are some other ridiculous lawsuits involving recording artists (and one that could be on the horizon.
