In yet another case of The Music vs. Acitivision, No Doubt are filing a lawsuit against the makers of Band Hero.
The suit contends the game “transformed No Doubt band members into a virtual karaoke circus act,” and the use of the band members’ avatars far exceeded anything agreed upon in the contract, according to the Los Angeles Times. One aspect of the game allows players to manipulate their characters into singing songs by other artists, for example having lead singer Gwen Stefani sing “Honky Tonk Woman” by the Rolling Stones.
“While No Doubt are avid fans of the Rolling Stones and even have performed in concerts with the Rolling Stones, the Character Manipulation Feature results in an unauthorized performance by the Gwen Stefani avatar in a male voice boasting about having sex with prostitutes,” the complaint reads.
The complaint also claims Activision withheld information on the Character Manipulation Feature, and allegedly told the band after they had requested to the have the function disabled that it would be too expensive to do so.
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Marie Osmond is countersuing her former manager, claiming he has defamed her and made extortionist demands, reports TMZ. Osmond wants $2 million from P. Karl Engemann.
The legal papers claim Engemann “tried to extort Osmond to pay more compensation to him by defaming and disparaging Osmond to third parties.” She claims he screwed up her plans for a talk show and ruined negotiations with Dancing with the Stars.
Before surviving a near-fatal plane crash last year, DJ AM was a successfully recovering addict, but his family is amending a negligence suit against companies involved in the crash to include an allegation of wrongful death, reports E! News.
“The crash ultimately caused DJ AM’s death,” the suit reads. They allege the crash forced him to begin taking pills to cope with anxiety and pain, which lead to his accidental overdose in August.
The death of DJ AM, a.k.a. Adam Goldstein, is going to the courts in a bizarre twist of events that links it with the plane crash DJ AM survived in Sept. 2008, according to TMZ.
The estate of Adam Goldstein is filing a ‘wrongful death’ suit against Clay Lacy Aviation, the airline responsible for the jet that crashed with both DJ AM and Travis Barker (of Blink 182) on board. The claim is that Goldstein was terrified of flying, and used drugs to calm his nerves.
The suit in the L.A. County Superior Court notes Goldstein was prescribed a number of drugs to cope with the burns he suffered as well as the distress following the crash. The travel service, Goodyear Tire, Learjet and the estates of the two pilots who were killed in the crash are also being sued by Goldstein’s estate.
Goldstein’s death in August was caused by a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs as well as cocaine.
After reading this headline, you might want to get your mind out of the gutter. While Jayde Nicole may be a Playmate – in fact, she was named 2008’s Playmate of the year – the sexy Canadian model is also involved in a slew of other projects including charity work, poker tournaments and of course, “The Hills.”
If you watch the MTV show “The Hills,” then you know that its former star, Lauren Conrad, said her goodbyes last season and now, “Laguna Beach’s” Kristin Cavallari fronts the show. So how have things changed? Nicole — who first appeared on “The Hills” last season as Brody Jenner’s girlfriend — explains.
“It’s definitely 100 per cent different,” she says (with emphasis on the 100). “It’s been a lot more dramatic and a lot more crazy, and it’s just kind of totally different from what we’re all used to.”
Both Nicole and Cavallari make no point in hiding that they’re not friends — to say it nicely — but Nicole says that could very well change one day. “It hasn’t changed as of right now, but you never know. I mean, I try to never say never because you don’t ever know what’s going to happen. If you would’ve asked me eight months ago if I would of been able to handle being around Audrina [Patridge], I would of said ‘no I can’t stand her,’ ” she admits. “But now I don’t mind her and neither one of us really have problems with each other anymore, so I don’t see us being friends in the future, but you never know.”
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Debbie Rowe, the mother of the late Michael Jackson’s three children, is seeking $490,000 in a defamation lawsuit against Rebecca White, a close fried of Debbie Rowe, reports TMZ.
Rowe says White was lying when she said in a television interview that she had an e-mail from Rowe stating, “Do I want the kids? Hell no. Does it look good for me to ask for them? Absolutely.”
Rowe filed the suit in July. A hearing is scheduled for November.
The Sex Pistols have declared war on an unlikely opponent – the ice cream man.
The lawyers of the band the Sex Pistols have threatened an ice cream company with legal action, according to CHARTattack. The dispute is over similarities between the ice cream company’s advertising campaign and the band’s famous artwork and lyrics.
The London-based company, Icecreamists, has reportedly featured a logo that has been deemed incredibly similar to those featured on the band’s single, “God Save The Queen.” The advertisement features a picture of the Queen in front of a Union Jack, with an ice cream spoon in her mouth and the words “God Save The Cream” written across her face. The Sex Pistols’ lawyers plan to argue that the ad campaign is much too similar to the band’s designer Jamie Reid’s work.
Icecreamists is said to have received a letter from the band’s lawyers back in August, stipulating that the company stop using the Sex Pistols’ influence to advertise their products. However, the founder of Icecreamists, Matt O’Connor, is a little shocked about the controversy.
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Rapper Eminem’s music publisher, Eight Mile Style LLC, settled a lawsuit with Apple for copyright violation. The publisher was going after the iTunes company regarding the unauthorized sale of 93 tracks on the music downloading site, Perez Hilton reports.
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Talk-show host Larry King’s company, Larry King Enterprises, and his driver and are being sued over a fender bender that happened in November 2008, reports TMZ. The two plaintiffs are suing for in excess of $50,000 in damages for injuries they allegedly suffered in the accident.
“This is a completely frivolous and fraudulent lawsuit,” said King’s wife, Shawn Southwick. “There was zero damage to both cars. Our driver has an excellent record and is extremely responsible. At the time of the incident, the people got out of the car, and they were completely fine. Our driver checked to see if they were okay. We have witnesses who will confirm that. They exchanged insurance information, and as soon as they saw Larry King Enterprises, they decided to go for what they assumed are deep pockets. These people went to an ambulance chaser for an attorney, and as though they were filling out a form to get the maximum amount of money they could, checked off every box possible. In return, they will be on the receiving end of a big, fat lawsuit.”
A court date is scheduled for December.
Coldplay’s music is about as unconfrontational as a banana. And yet somehow, their entire career has been plagued with criticism and controversy from the music world and beyond.
Aside form vicious accusations of being “soft-rock” and the next U2 (which, I have to point out, aren’t exactly negative qualities when you are raking in millions of dollars and married to Gwenyth Paltrow), Coldplay were accused last year of ripping off said soft-rock from Deep Purple, no less.
The lawsuit was filed in December by none other than guitar god Joe Satriani, who claimed Coldplay padded their massive hit “Viva la Vida” with large parts of his song “If I Could Fly.”
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