Last month, actress Lindsay Lohan unleashed her lawyers upon Rockstar Games, creators of the Grand Theft Auto series, claiming that the company had used her likeness without her permission in its latest instalment, GTA V. The lawsuit against Rockstar"s parent company, Take-Two Interactive, alleged that the character of "Lacey Jonas" in the game was an "unequivocal" reference to Lohan.
Lindsay Lohan and Lacey Jonas - not actually the same person
But Take-Two has now hit back, accusing the star of engaging in a frivolous lawsuit, as Sky News reports. In court papers filed this week, the company said that Lohan and her representatives had filed the case purely for "publicity purposes", calling for it to be dismissed, and demanding that she pay their legal fees.
Lohan"s lawyers claimed that "the portraits of the Plaintiff incorporated her image, likeness, clothing, outfits, Plaintiff"s clothing line products, ensemble in the form of hats, hair style, sunglasses, jean shorts worn by the Plaintiff that were for sale to the public at least two years." Take-Two has refuted these claims, insisting that the only similarities between Lohan and the fictional Jonas character come from the fact that both are young, blonde women.
GTA V is one of the most successful video games of all time, generating revenues of $800 million in its first 24 hours of sales alone. It was also the most expensive video game ever created, with a budget of $267 million.
Source: Sky News | Lindsay Lohan image via Shutterstock