Lindsay Lohan fails to win this case of “stolen identity” against GTA V.
In a lawsuit that spanned over four years, actress Lindsay Lohan claimed that makers of Grand Theft Auto V based a character on her. However, in a ruling released last week, six judges at New York state’s Court of Appeals unanimously rejected her privacy case.
The case was initially filed in 2014 against Rockstar Games, the makers of Grand Theft Auto V. This was also the time when the actress’ career was not doing very well.
She claimed that one of the title’s characters, Lacey Jones, was based on herself. This character appears in the game’s box art but only plays a minor role in the actual game. Apparently, the character doesn’t only look like her, it also had a similar sounding voice and wore clothes that resembled her own clothing line.
The appeal judges accepted her claim that the character could constitute a “portrait” which supports her privacy claim. However, they feel that the likeness was not strong enough. According to them, the “actress slash singer” in the game merely resembled a generic young woman.
“[The] artistic renderings are indistinct, satirical representations of the style, look and persona of a modern, beach-going young woman… that is not recognisable as plaintiff,” Judge Eugene Fahey wrote in his ruling.
Since its launch in September 2013, the Grand Theft Auto game has sold more than 275 million copies worldwide. And despite being more than four years old, it still manages to top charts to this day.
