Brad and Shiloh shopping on 5/19/08. Credit: WENN

Brad Pitt and his lawyers are planning legal action because photographers took pictures of their family playing in their backyard.

Lawyers for Brad Pitt on Thursday threatened legal action against anyone publishing recent photographs they say were taken by paparazzi of the actor and his newly enlarged family at their French estate.

Pictures of Pitt and his family in France were “surreptitiously” snapped using a powerful telephoto lens and sold to an unidentified buyer, the Los Angeles lawyers said in a letter published by the U.S. Web site The Smoking Gun (http://www.thesmokinggun.com).

The lawyers did not say which family members were in the pictures.

Pitt and actress Angelina Jolie, the mother of his children, have reportedly sold exclusive picture rights to the first photographs of their newborn twins to a U.S. publication for $11 million. The money would go to charity.

Rueters

Now I understand that the backyard is a private place and they should be able to play there and not get photographed. I even think that they should be able to walk down the street and get milk, or take their kids for a seatbelt-free ride on a golf cart without getting their picture taken. But somehow I think that the family is going to lose a bit of sympathy in this lawsuit. You have sold pictures of your children to various magazines for huge profit, even if that money has been donated to charities. Just let it pass, and enjoy your time with the family. You have two new babies to get to know, and could probably really use some sleep!

France has much stricter laws about paparazzi photographers than any other country in the world, but if someone secured the first pictures of the twins it would be a huge financial boost. How can a fine and a few days in jail compare to that kind of windfall?

The Smoking Gun website, which got the letter from Camp Brangelina, says that they have never purchased a paparazzi picture in the eleven years of their site being in action. You can view the full letter there, which states that it is a “confidential legal communication and not for publication”.

Sienna Miller is one great big bundle of contradictions. Or a hypocrite, depending on how you want to put it. The woman is barely able to keep her top on. I cannot think of any celebrity whose breasts I’ve seen so often I could pick them out of a lineup. And though she seems physically incapable of keeping her shirt on in public, Sienna Miller is suing over the slew of boobie pics of late – and there have been tons. Taken on multiple occasions.

Sienna Miller is suing two media organizations over the topless photos of her vacationing with new beau Balthazar Getty.

According to London’s The Guardian, she claims photo agency Big Pictures and British tabloids News of the World and the Sun violated her privacy by publishing photos and stories about her new romance.

The suit comes days after Getty announced he and his wife Rosetta (with whom he has four children) have separated. In a statement, the actor said “the breakdown of a marriage is a very difficult and painful experience especially when children are involved.” He added that the photos that “have surfaced in print and on the Internet” have “caused myself and my family great embarrassment.”

[From Us Weekly]

Sienna doesn’t just have a history of walking around al fresco, she also has a long history of suing photographers over it. And winning. I’m not saying the woman doesn’t have a right to privacy. And I’m not saying she shouldn’t be able to walk around topless where it’s legal, if that’s what she wants to do. But it’s just about publicity.

If Miller really didn’t want her nipples splashed across the pages of The Sun, then she should keep them behind a nice peasant top. It’s crazy how that works. If you keep your nipples to yourself, photographers won’t take pictures of them. If you go outdoors and shove them into your boyfriend’s hands, photographers will take pictures of them. It’s a pretty simple equation, really.

I hope this lawsuit gets thrown out. It makes me think of the morbidly obese man who sued Wendy’s restaurants because the booths weren’t large enough for him to sit in. As the judge pointed out, the man was too large for the booths, it wasn’t that the booths are too small. Thus the man was ordered by the judge to lose weight (though I’m not saying that was necessarily an appropriate solution in that case).

Similarly, Sienna seems to have confused the essential issue here. It’s not like photographers were snapping pictures of here walking around inside her house naked. She was outdoors on a boat. And on a deck. And a couple other places. She’s been shirtless so often lately that it’s hard to keep track. The judge should order her to keep her top on in public. Or take it off, for all I care. She just needs to stop complaining about the logical result of her actions.

Here’s Sienna at the 2007 Golden Globes. Header image at the New York screening of the film Interview last July 11th. Images thanks to WENN.

It must suck to be a former child star. Anytime the word “former” is applied to your general description when you’re only in your twenties, it’s probably a bad thing. “Former” star kind of implies that you were formerly awesome and now are much less so. “Former” drug addict implies that you used to have some really huge issues and now you’re probably better off – but it doesn’t imply success. So it seems like whether “former” is applied to something good or something bad, it still equals at least a bit of a stigma.

Hence the battle former child stars are always up against. The few that do well are notable. The lucky ones seem to fade into obscurity, though you can still imagine them refusing to wash the dishes or take out the trash because they just can’t handle ordinary stuff. But the least fortunate seem to battle serious addictions, money and family problems, and/or enjoy a few run-ins with the police.

And that is where our story leads us. Former Home Improvement actor Zachery Ty Bryan, 26, got into some sort of serious altercation at a hotel in April. Serious enough that he wound up getting tasered by one of the hotel’s managers – and now Bryan is suing them.

Zachery Ty Bryan, who played Brad Taylor on “Home Improvement” — is suing Choice Hotels International over an incident back in April 2008. Zach claims he was staying at a hotel in San Diego when he and a few friends went across the street to grab a Gatorade. When he came back just after midnight, Bryan’s lawyer claims the hotel wouldn’t let him upstairs, since the room wasn’t in his name.

Then things went really bad …

Bryan’s lawyer claims Zach tried explaining his wife was in the room, but the hotel refused to call her. He claims an off-duty manager, who was not involved in the initial argument, came out of nowhere and tasered Zach in the neck. Cops came but no charges were filed.

A hotel employee tells us Zach went nuts on the staff, a lot of alcohol was involved, and tasering the dude was the only safe bet.

Zach is suing for damages in excess of $25,000. A lawyer for the hotel had no comment.

[From TMZ]

This is one of those stories that you read and think “there is some serious stuff missing from this account.” Unless the hotel’s manager is a well-known lunatic, it seems rather unbelievable that he would just come up out of nowhere and taser a man – for what is implied to be no reason. And it seems equally odd that the hotel wouldn’t let him back in because his name wasn’t on the room. Either everyone at that hotel is batshit crazy, or one guy was really drunk. Hmmm…

Bryan isn’t the only Home Improvement child star to have some serious problems as a grownup. Taran Noah Smith, who played the youngest brother on the show, had some pretty public embarrassment when his trashed home was put on the market. TMZ got a hold of a video of the home, which the Realtor noted in the home’s listing notes was “Absolutely the worst house in a prime location.” It was trashed beyond recognition, in a manner that reeked of the results of drug use.

Stories like these make you glad you’re just a regular person.

Here is Zachery Ty Bryan and his wife Carly Matros at the ” Fast and The Furious: Tokyo Drift” premiere in Los Angeles on 6/4/06. Photographer : Nikki Nelson; Images thanks to WENN.

Two years ago Eminem beat up a guy in a strip club. No big surprise, right? Right. We haven’t heard a lot from Eminem in a while, but it makes sense that when we would, it’d be for some kind of fight. Well even though the guy laid low for a couple years, he’s decided that NOW is the time to sue the rapper – for the gigantic sum of $25,000.

A man has sued Eminem, claiming the rapper punched him two years ago while they were in the bathroom of a Detroit strip club.

The Detroit News reports Miad Jarbou of Royal Oak filed the lawsuit Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court seeking more than $25,000 in damages. The suit claims Eminem punched him July 13, 2006, at Cheetah’s On the Strip Gentlemen’s Club.

Eminem spokesman Dennis Dennehy declined to comment Friday on the lawsuit.

Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Bruce Mathers III, wasn’t charged following reports of an incident at the club in 2006.

The strip club is located on Eight Mile Road, the border between Detroit and the northern suburbs made famous by Eminem’s hit 2002 film “8 Mile.”

[From the Huffington Post]

The incident happened after Jarbou and a friend approached Eminem for an autograph in the club’s bathroom. The rapper was at the urinal, and his bodyguard turned Jarbou away. According to his account, he was trying to explain to the bodyguard that he wanted to meet Eminem when the rapper turned around and punched him.

He’s claiming the classic lawsuit issues due to the incident; that he’s undergone physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, has dealt with ongoing serious injuries requiring medical treatment and suffered embarrassment, humiliation, the burden of medical expenses, wage loss and other economic and non-economic damages. So pretty much that one punch ruined his whole life.

Normally I’d think a lawsuit over this was stupid, but the guy’s only asking for$25,000. That’s like a weekend in Vegas to Eminem. I’m surprised he hasn’t just paid it. It seems fair for punching a guy for pretty much no reason.

Images thanks to PR Photos.

If there is one person in Hollywood who doesn’t deserve a break, even after serving prison time and being treated like a pariah by most of his old good-time party pals, it’s Joe Francis. This guy gives the term “scumbag” a new meaning, getting rich by preying on drunk college girls who will be ashamed and embarrassed for the rest of their lives. So any time I read about Joey Boy taking yet another financial beating, it pretty much makes my day. The Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas has been publicly pursuing several celebs with outstanding gambling debts lately, including NBA stars Charles Barkley, who owed the casino $400,000 and Alonzo Mourning. Now, they’re setting their sights on Francis, who allegedly owes the casino $2 million.

“Girls Gone Wild” founder Joe Francis’ legal problems increased after the Wynn Las Vegas filed a $2 million lawsuit against him for unpaid gambling debts dating back to February 2007.

The Strip resort filed the suit Friday.

“As far as Mr. Francis is concerned, his obligations to the Wynn hotel have been fully lived up to per prior agreements,” a spokesman for Francis said today.

A Wynn Las Vegas representative declined to comment.

Francis is currently free on bail pending his trial on tax evasion charges in Reno. A trial date has not been set.

[From ReviewJournal.com]

Hey, look, the economy is rotten and these casinos are no doubt taking a beating right now. They can’t let these so-called high rollers rack up hundreds of thousands or even millions in debt and get away with it. These guys are lucky it’s not the old days of Las Vegas, or Joe would have a lot more to worry about than a lawsuit. Someone might come along and wreck those pretty fake teeth of his, or worse. Hey, I can dream, can’t I?

Joe Francis and Spencer Pratt are shown at the release party for the second issue of Girls Gone Wild Magazine on 6/4/08, thanks WENN photographer Rachel Worth.

Iconic 80s electronic band Devo is suing McDonalds for copyright infringement over a Happy Meal toy included as part of an American Idol promotion. The toy featured Devo’s trademark plastic tiered red funnel hat, distinctive glasses, and orange jumpsuit and was named “New Wave Nigel.” Devo popularized that unique look in the video for their 1980 hit “Whip It,” and they say McDonalds is blatantly ripping them off, plus they say they just don’t like them or American Idol, so they’re “doubly offended.”

Eric Whelchel at Blog Critics points out that Devo isn’t advertise to being used for commercial advertisements, so it’s likely that they’re just understandably pissed that they’re not getting paid:

Devo is currently riding the artistic integrity highway in explaining its legal action. Bassist Gerald Casale, credited with creating the band’s unique look, is quoted as saying that McDonald’s “didn’t ask us anything. Plus, we don’t like McDonalds’, and we don’t like American Idol, so we’re doubly offended.”Nevertheless, it’s somewhat difficult to accept this assertion at face value. Despite its carefully crafted image as a band that mocked and criticized commercialism, Devo hasn’t shied away from using its image or music in commercials. The band appeared in a 1984 ad for Honda scooters, and later recorded a new version of “Whip It” for Swiffer television commercials (though Casale has since stated the band regrets that decision). Clearly, Devo won’t ever be confused with Tom Waits regarding their views on licensing their songs (or themselves) for commercial use.

With this history in mind, Casale’s comment that McDonald’s “didn’t ask us anything” is curious. Those cynics among us could interpret that to mean that Devo might have approved the idea, had they been asked and, it can be inferred, been given a cut of that sweet Big Mac baksheesh.

[From Blogcritics.org]

You can’t blame them for suing over this toy. It’s just like the look they pioneered and they should have received some kind of compensation. I searched the US Patent and Trademark Office and the Copyright Office and they have plenty of trademarks and copyrights on their music, lyrics, videos and name, but I couldn’t find anything specifically related to their look. Maybe I just don’t know what to look for.

Devo is currently comprised of five members, including four original members who happen to be two sets of brothers. They’re still recording and making a living off their music. The youngest and newest member is 35 year-old drummer Josh Freese, with the original four members all in their mid to late 50s.

In 2007, Devo recorded a song that was featured in a Dell commercial called “Watch Us Work It.” They were working on a new album, which has been slightly delayed. Their last studio non-compilation album was out in 1990, although they’ve released several greatest hits CDs and video game soundtracks.

Devo is touring this summer, and has done dates in the US and Europe so far. They are scheduled to play throughout Australia and Japan in the next two months.

There’s a band called “Devo 2.0” which is made up of child singers, including three girls, who’ve re-recorded Devo songs for Disney. The band is fully sanctioned by Devo and properly licensed. They’ve got to make a buck somehow. [Details of Devo’s career paraphrased from Wikipedia]

Here’s “Whip It”

Image below is of Devo’s Mark Mothersbaugh performing at the 2007 Benicassim Festival in Spain, credit Corentin Lamy via Wikipedia. Header images via Andy on The Roll and brocknroll.wordpress.com. Inset image from Letterarms.blogspot.com.

Rob Lowe was sued for sexual harassment this spring by a nanny who worked for his family for seven years, returning once on her own volition. The nanny, Jessica Gibson, 24, is being represented by aggressive press-hungry celebrity attorney Gloria Allred. In a less than credible appearance on The Today Show, Gibson grinned guiltily and laughed inappropriately while Allred answered most of the questions, holding her hand and controlling the interview.

Allred managed to rustle up another nanny to file suit against the Lowes for sexual harassment, and in the press conference she held with the shaking, sobbing nanny Allred spoke the entire time, holding the poor woman by the shoulders. Allred actually covered the woman’s mouth when she tried to speak.

While Jessica Gibson says Lowe exposed himself to her and groped her, the other nanny accuses his wife of creating a hostile work environment by openly discussing her sex life and occasionally walking around naked. Neither Gibson or the other nanny mentioned the supposed harassment to any of their superiors or lodged a complaint prior to filing these lawsuits.

Now Lowe’s legal team has submitted three declarations to the court from various people who worked for his family which make it clear that Gibson is a less than credible witness. The most damning statement comes from her own sister.

Jessica Gibson’s sister: She was doing it because the Lowes owed her money
Jamie Gibson Sprovieri worked as estate manager for the Lowes for four years, and indicated that her sister was hoping to settle the case for a hefty sum. Her statement claims that not only did her sister never tell her about the alleged harassment or even complain about Lowe prior to filing suit, but that she also told her that she wouldn’t have sued if the Lowes would have paid her $200 they owed her.

In or about March, 2008, Jessica told me that she had sent the Lowes a demand with a complaint because she was alleging that Rob Lowe had been sexually harassing her. Jessica told me that she had made the demand through an attorney named John Richards and that she was asking for $1.5 million. Jessica said that she decided on $1.5 million because she had heard that another well-known actor had paid that amount to a woman who threatened to bring a sexual harassment claim against him.

During the conversation described above, Jessica also told me that if the Lowes had just paid her the $200 that she said they owed her, none of this would have happened. I understood her comment to mean that she would not have made a demand against the Lowes for $1.5 million or accused Rob Lowe of sexual harassment if they would have just paid the $200.

This conversation was the first time that Jessica had ever said anything to me about Rob Lowe doing anything that she thought was inappropriate. In fact, she had never complained to him to me before this conversation.

[From PDF of Jamie Gibson’s declaration available on TMZ.com]

Chef says Jessica Gibson hit on him relentlessly, was a sex predator
In another recently filed declaration, a chef who worked for the Lowes in London says that Jessica was sexually inappropriate and acted like a “predator.” The chef says he resisted her advances and told her multiple times that he had a girlfriend, but she wouldn’t let up and even sang that stupid “Dontcha wish your girlfriend was hot like me” song right to his girlfriend’s face.

I observed from the first day that Jessica arrived in London… that she had an overly flirtatious manner and appeared to be somewhat of a sexual predator. Within hours of her arrival, she had changed into hot pants and was laying on the kitchen floor with her legs open in a very suggestive manner. Her conduct made me feel uncomfortable because I felt it crossed personal boundaries especially considering that we had only known each other for a few hours…

When my girlfriend was around, Jessica would be flirtatious with me and create the impression that something was going on between the two of us. On John Owen’s birthday at Pizza in the Park she sang the lyrics to the Pussy Cat Doll’s “Don’t cha…” to my girlfriend across the table while looking at her and then me.

[From PDF of James Maclear’s declaration, available on TMZ.com]

48 year-old tennis instructor: I got some of that but she was crazy
And the most entertaining declaration comes from a 48 year-old tennis instructor who worked with the Lowe children when they lived in England. He admitted he was having an affair with Jessica, but said he made it clear that he had a longterm girlfriend and wasn’t about to leave her. The needy girl also sang “Dont cha” by the Pussycat Dolls in an unoriginal and desperate bid for his affection. He described another incident in which she took off her pants in the kitchen and wanted him to have sex with her when the boys she was supposed to be watching were in the house and apt to walk in.

Jessica told me shortly after we first met that she was interested in me. I was flattered that a twenty-two year old woman would have such an interest in me. I was forty-eight at the time. I made it clear to Jessica that I was in a serious relationship and I would not break up with my girlfriend.

During the following few months that I knew Jessica, she was very forward with me and did not seem concerned with being discreet. For example, on one occasion in the evening when Matthew and John Owen and [sic] were running around in my employer’s home, I walked into the kitchenette area. Jessica was standing in the kitchenette and had taken off her pants and underwear and invited me to have sex even though the boys were in the general area. I was shocked by her audacity. I told her that we could not do that and walked out of the room…

It had become apparent that Jessica was struggling with the fact that I would not end the relationship with my girlfriend. Jessica was taking the relationship with me more seriously. For example, on one occasion, she started singing “don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me,” the lyrics to a popular song at the time, when I was around. She would also tell me that she loved me on a number of occasions.

[From PDF of Nigel Armstrong’s declaration available on TMZ.com]

Of course the tennis instructor says that Gibson never gave him any indication that Rob Lowe was inappropriate with her in any way.

There are more semi-salacious legal documents related to the case on TMZ, including a declaration by Rob Lowe’s wife Sheryl in which she says Jessica came to see her husband while wearing just a towel and tried twice to get him to put sunblock on her. There are also dumb text messages between Jessica and her boyfriend from earlier this year. She calls her employer Sheryl crazy and the boyfriend jokes that they should beat up the Lowes, steal their jewelry and escape to Mexico.

The Lowes are also suing Gibson, and say she is in violation of a confidentiality agreement and is lying. Their case just got a hell of a lot stronger.

At first, it seemed like he’d leaked the sex tape himself, but now it looks like “Mini-Me” Verne Troyer prefers to keep his bedroom activities private after all. The actor is seriously pissed at TMZ and is suing the site for posting stills and clips from the tape earlier this week.

Verne Troyer has filed a $20 million lawsuit, claiming TMZ violated his rights by publishing and airing portions of his sex tape.

In the suit, filed today in U.S. District Court in downtown L.A., Troyer claims TMZ violated his privacy rights and infringed on his copyright and trademark by running portions of the tape on TMZ TV and TMZ.com. He also alleges TMZ violated his right of publicity and misappropriated his name and likeness.

Troyer says the tape was stolen and ended up in the hands of Kevin Blatt, the guy who distributed “One Night in Paris.” Blatt is also named as a defendant.

In addition to damages, Troyer wants an injunction prohibiting further dissemination of the video.

Calls to TMZ were not returned.

[From TMZ]

No word yet on who may have stolen the tape. It sounds like Verne might be hanging out with some less-than-trustworthy people these days- and that person knew just where to go with a sex tape. Meanwhile, TMZ might be getting sued, but it’s not stopping them from finding out more about Verne’s co-star in the tape. Apparently she’s a 22-year-old aspiring model from Kentucky who really thought Verne was in love with her. Poor kid.

Picture note by Celebitchy: Verne Troyer and his sex tape co-star are shown at the MTV Movie Awards on 6/1/08. I bet he broke up with her and she’s the one who released the sex tape and all the personal photos to TMZ.

In early July of 2006, Woody Harrelson grabbed a paparazzo by the neck and br when the guy wouldn’t stop taking photos of him out with a group of women. Most of the exchange was caught on videotape and posted to TMZ shortly afterwards. There were visible scratches and broken skin on the back of the photographer’s neck.

The photographer filed a criminal complaint at the police station, and the LAPD said they were investigating the incident but not much more was heard about it.

Right before the two year statute of limitations runs out, the photographer is predictably suing Harrelson. Along with claiming that 46 year-old actor choked him and broke his camera, he also says Harrelson ordered his bodyguard to attack him. The photographer wants a whopping $2.5 million:

Woody Harrelson has been sued for $2.5 million by a paparazzo who accused the actor of assaulting him and breaking his video camera two years ago.

According to a lawsuit filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Josh Levine was filming Harrelson in Hollywood late one night in June 2006. He alleges the Academy Award-nominated actor choked him, broke his video camera and ordered his bodyguard to attack him.

Levine’s suit says he still has mental, physical and emotional pain from the encounter. He is also suing the unidentified bodyguard.

Harrelson’s publicist could not immediately be reached for comment.

[The Associated Press via Huffington Post]

It seemed pretty obvious to me at the time I assumed at the time based on his aggressive behavior that Woody was cheating on his wife, who had just given birth to their third daughter a month before. Why would he get so upset at being photographed unless he was up to something? (Update: as many of you mentioned, I made the assumption that Woody was cheating based on the way he objected to being photographed. There was little basis for this and I should have phrased it better.)

The photographer definitely deserves compensation for his injuries and broken equipment, but $2.5 million? I see this being settled out of court for five figures, and that’s probably what the victim is hoping for too. It’s not like a jury is going to be incredibly sympathetic toward a paparazzi photographer, even if Harrelson was clearly in the wrong.

Woody Harrelson is shown at the Semi-Pro premiere on 2/19/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

I hate ridiculous lawsuits more than I hate anything else in the world. Or until I think of something new to hate tomorrow. A woman is suing Victoria’s Secret for an eye injury she sustained while putting on a thong. She says one of the little metal decorative pieces – or a fastener used to attach it – scratched her cornea. She’s unclear how it happened – I’m assuming there was some sort of ricocheting involved.

A Los Angeles woman is suing the lingerie-producing giant Victoria’s Secret over a thong gone wrong. Fifty-two-year-old Macrida Patterson, who works in parking enforcement for the Los Angeles Department of Transportation, says she suffered a scratched cornea after either a pendant or a metal fastener snapped off a pair of panties and struck her in the eye.

“It does seem sort of unbelievable at first,” said Patterson’s attorney, Jason Buccat. But, he said, his client’s injuries will “affect her for the rest of her life.”

Tammy Roberts Myers, a Victoria’s Secret spokeswoman, said the company had not seen the lawsuit and had no comment.

[From ABC News]

Sometimes these embarrassing “how could anyone possibly do that?” type injuries sound dumb but actually have merit. When I was in school one of the lawyers from the infamous McDonald’s hot coffee lawsuit spoke to my law class.

When he explained the whole thing – from the cup’s flawed design to the coffee that was routinely kept hotter than boiling – you saw that the case really was legitimate. And then he showed us pictures of the woman’s injuries, which still make me sick to this day. The boiling water left wounds in her thighs that were inches deep. So I always try to keep that in mind when the media latches onto some seemingly stupid lawsuit.

That said, this sure sounds like bullshit. I think that if nothing else, this lady needs to get a new lawyer. He comes off as an idiot, repeating the same trite phrases over and over again. I really wanted to smack him and hold a pillow over his head after about 20 seconds. And his whole “We just want to make sure our client is taken care of” thing – dude you’re suing over a thong injury. Don’t act like this is just about your client’s health and well-being. You’re here for cash and 10 seconds of fame. And now you’ll forever be known as the thong lawyer. Well played.