"Grand Theft Auto" is the ultimate parody series. Each game in the wildly popular series has gone deeper and deeper into satire of American culture. And, sometimes, that satire butts up against reality.
Rockstar Games
Such is the case with one such advertisement for "Grand Theft Auto V," seen above, which Lindsay Lohan took as an image of her.
Yes, the same Lindsay Lohan who was in "Mean Girls" and has repeatedly had run-ins with the law. The same Lindsay Lohan who doesn't have blonde hair on a regular basis.
In fairness to Lohan, there's a photo of her looking distinctly like the woman you see above:
Rockstar Games
Even the lines on her bikini are similar.
As a result, Lohan went after "Grand Theft Auto" publisher Take-Two Interactive in court. The court documents describe the suit as such, "The images are not of Lohan herself, but merely the avatar in the game that Lohan claims is a depiction of her."
The suit was thrown out on Thursday by New York State.
According to the court's decision, since Rockstar Games "never referred to Lohan by name or user her actual name in the video game, never used Lohan herself as an actor for the video game, and never used a photograph of Lohan," the suit is being dismissed.
The court contends that "Grand Theft Auto V" is a "work of fiction and satire," and that, "The images are not of Lohan herself, but merely the avatar in the game that Lohan claims is a depiction of her." In so many words, since "Grand Theft Auto V" is protected as a creative work, its fictional depiction of people - even partially based in reality - is considered free speech.
Sorry, Lindsay!
We first saw this story on Kotaku.