Our long, national nightmare is finally over. The two-year court battle between Lindsey Lohan and Take-Two Interactive (the GTA publishers) has been decided in Take-Two’s favor. It turns out that video games were protected by the First Amendment all along!
Back in 2014, Lohan filed suit against Rockstar and Take-Two for the portrayal of the character Lacey Jonas in Grand Theft Auto V . She claimed Rockstar was appropriating her image in the Lacey Jones promotional pictures such as the one above and the famous peace-sign bikini shot from the game’s cover.
The judge, however, ruled against Lohan because neither her name nor her actual image were used anywhere in the game. He made the same ruling against Mob Wives star Karen Gravano, who had a similar complaint about the character Andrea Bottino.
We were also reminded by the judge that video games are indeed works of fiction and can portray satire. They are protected by the First Amendment just like books, movies, and television. Just as comedians are allowed to do celebrity impressions as part of their comedy, Rockstar is allowed to make fun of celebrity culture by putting a Lindsey Lohan-alike in its games. Huzzah for the First Amendment!
Source: Eurogamer , Gravano v Take-Two Interactive