File Under WTH: Woody Allen Claims American Apparel is Harassing Him

From Yahoo! News:

Actor-director Woody Allen has fired back against American Apparel’s effort to drag his personal life into a civil court case, saying the clothing company is harassing him.

Lawyers for the 73-year-old Allen filed new legal papers in federal court in Manhattan on Wednesday. The papers say American Apparel isn’t playing fair by trying to expose his family life, personal finances and career. They say it’s a “scorched earth” approach.

The 73-year-old Allen started the fight against American Apparel Inc. when he sued the company last year for using his image on the company’s billboards in Hollywood and New York and on a Web site.

Allen, who does not endorse products in the United States, said he had not authorized the displays, which the Los Angeles-based company said were up for only a week.

Now the company plans to make Allen’s relationships to actress Mia Farrow and her adopted daughter Soon-Yi Previn the focus of a trial scheduled to begin in federal court in Manhattan on May 18, according to the company’s lawyer, Stuart Slotnick.

“Woody Allen expects $10 million for use of his image on billboards that were up and down in less than one week. I think Woody Allen overestimates the value of his image,” Slotnick said.

Wait…do you mean to tell me that Dov Charney is doing something sleazy and sub-legal with an almost pathological sense of entitlement and lack of shame? Quelle surprise!

Seriously - you tried to get away with using a photo of Allen without authorization and it didn’t work. He wanted money for it, because, well, usually celebrities are paid to endorse products/companies. The right thing to do would have been to take it on the chin, try to haggle with him out of court, and maybe offer him a lifetime supply of gold lamé hotshorts.

Photo credit: BlackBook