Remember that guy Ron Livingston from Office Space? He became a hero for my generation of disaffected Internet workers working in cubicle farms. I swear I worked at about five different companies just like that. “We need to talk about your TPS reports… Mmmkay?” We remember Livingston from Office Space because he hasn’t done anything as high profile as that 1999 film. IMDB lists a lot of credits to his name, but he’s been doing mostly TV shows and lesser-known movies.

The guy is making headlines again with a lawsuit against an anonymous Wikipedia user who keeps changing his Wikipedia profile to say that he’s gay. Livingston, 42, has been married to a woman since last month, but someone keeps altering his entry to say that he’s in a same sex relationship with an actor named Lee Dennison. If this lawsuit moves forward, it would mean that Wikipedia will have to reveal the IP address, or unique Internet access identification number, of the user who is pranking Livingston. The thing is, there are plenty of ways to spoof your IP address and this person may have covered their tracks.

Ron Livingston — the guy who played Peter in “Office Space” — is sick and tired of someone constantly changing his Wikipedia page to say he’s in a gay relationship … and now he’s suing to make the rumors stop.

Ron — who married a woman earlier this year — claims some mystery Internet bandit began relentlessly changing his Wiki page to say he’s in a relationship with a man named Lee Dennison … a claim Livingston says is completely false and “malicious.”

According to the lawsuit, filed yesterday in L.A. County Superior Court, the Wiki-hacking began back in May — and every time Ron’s reps remove the false info from his Wiki page … the bandit “changes them back almost immediately.”

And it gets better: Ron believes the perp also created fake Facebook profiles for himself and Lee, and both pages claim the two are “In a relationship” with each other.

Livingston is suing for libel, invasion of privacy and for using his name and likeness without his permission. Damages haven’t been specified.

[From TMZ]

Why didn’t Livingston just ask Wikipedia to lock his entry to unregistered users? I see that notice all the time on pages about recent or controversial events. This wouldn’t be the first case in which Wikipedia would be ordered to reveal information about a user. There was a case in the US earlier this month in which Wikipedia was ordered to reveal the IP address of someone trying to blackmail an unnamed businesswoman by revealing personal information on the collaborative site.

Ron Livingston’s Wikipedia entry currently has the correct information about his personal life and lists him as married to actress Rosemarie DeWitt, 35, his co-star on the 2006-2007 Fox TV show Standoff. I love Wikipedia but it really relies on good will. It’s too bad that a tiny percentage of idiots can detract from such a useful, free site.

Here’s a mashup of Office Space scenes, thanks to user Gizga on YouTube. There’s a lot missing, namely the “I believe you have my stapler” guy. The line at the end there may explain why Livingston was targeted. (I got that from Fark)

Ron Livingston is shown at the premiere of The Time Traveler’s Wife on 8/12/09. Credit: WENN.com. The image on the front page is from 2007 when he was heavier.

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