The game publisher behind Grand Theft Auto V is conceding nothing to Lindsay Lohan in her publicity rights lawsuit claiming it appropriated her image and persona. Instead, Take-Two Interactive claims in a new motion to dismiss that her amended complaint "suffers from even greater defects than the first one."
Lohan has a record of pressing publicity rights claims, including suing E-Trade for a commercial featuring a "milkaholic" baby named Lindsay, and rapper Pitbull for the line “I'm tip-toein', to keep flowin', I got it locked up, like Lindsay Lohan."
The actress sued Take-Two and its subsidiary Rockstar Games in July over characters in GTAV she alleges are based on her. She takes issue with two transitional screen images that depict blonde women Lohan says resemble her, as well as a side mission in which the player is tasked with helping a young actress named "Lacey Jonas" escape the paparazzi.
Take-Two responded with a motion not only to dismiss the lawsuit, but to sanction Lohan and her attorneys, calling the lawsuit so "legally meritless" it could only be a grab for publicity. The game publisher points in particular to her loss in the Pitbull case, arguing that the same law that applies to the song — a New York statute granting works of art complete protection against right of publicity claims — applies to GTAV.
