Universal Studios sued by fans of Ana de Armas after she was edited of 'Yesterday'
- Two fans of Ana de Armas filed a class-action lawsuit against Universal on Friday, Variety reports.
- The lawsuit claims the actress appeared in the trailer for "Yesterday," but not the actual film.
Two fans have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against Universal, claiming they were duped into renting the 2019 film "Yesterday" because Ana de Armas was featured in the trailer.
According to court documents obtained by Variety, California resident Peter Michael Rosza, 44, and Maryland resident Conor Woulfe, 38, filed the lawsuit on Friday. The pair reportedly claimed they each paid $3.99 to rent the movie on Amazon Prime, but discovered De Armas did not appear during the film despite observing her in the trailer in October 2021.
"Because consumers were promised a movie with Ana de Armas by the trailer for 'Yesterday,' but did not receive a movie with any appearance of Ana de Armas at all, such consumers were not provided with any value for their rental or purchase," the lawsuit says, according to Variety.
"Yesterday" is a musical romantic comedy film starring Himesh Patel as Jack Malik, a struggling singer who skyrockets to fame after learning he's the only person who remembers The Beatles.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, de Armas, who starred in "Knives Out" and "War Dogs," was initially cast as a love interest for Malik, but her scenes were removed from the final version.
"Unable to rely on fame of the actors playing Jack Malik or Ellie to maximize ticket and movie sales and rentals, Defendant consequently used Ms. De Armas's fame, radiance and brilliance to promote the film by including her scenes in the movie trailers advertising Yesterday," the lawsuit stated, THR reported.
The lawsuit also claimed that Universal duped audiences by featuring a scene in the trailer where Malik plays The Beatles' song "Something," but did not include it in the film, according to THR.
THR reported that the lawsuit accused Universal of engaging in deceptive marketing, unjust enrichment, and violating competition laws in addition to other claims.
The lawsuit seeks at least $5 million on behalf of California and Maryland residents who paid to view "Yesterday."
Representatives for Universal, Rosza, Woulfe and de Armas did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
De Armas, who previously dated Ben Affleck, said in February 2020 that she almost didn't accept her role in "Knives Out" because the character description was listed as "Latina caretaker, pretty."