Cypress Hill Singer Sues Grand Theft Auto Maker
Posted in: Miscellaneous Tech, Today's Chili, video games
Michael “Shagg” Washington, a former backup singer for rap group Cypress Hill, has sued Rockstar Games, claiming that the company used his likeness without asking. According to Washington, Carl “CJ” Johnson, a character from Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, borrows his image and back story.
Washington says that he met with Rockstar in 2003 to discuss his background. He wasn’t alerted to CJ’s existence in 2009, when his nephew brought the character to his attention.
He says that Rockstar told they would let him know if they were going to use his likeness, but he never actually heard from the company.
“The plaintiff had never seen the game,” according to the suit. “He did not own or play video games, but it seemed possible that he had been included in the game. He then recalled the meeting in or about 2003, and it began to dawn on him that his image had been stolen for the game.”
Washington is asking for $250 million–a quarter of the game’s total profits.
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