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Lindsay Lohan allowed to sue Rockstar Games over GTA V character, court says

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Lindsay Lohan will be allowed to sue Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games and publisher Take-Two Interactive over a character from Grand Theft Auto V, which she believes was modeled off of her likeness and used without her permission, a New York State Supreme Court justice ruled Friday.

Lohan sued Take-Two in 2014 over Grand Theft Auto V character Lacey Jonas, the blonde woman prominently featured in the game’s box art and marketing materials. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lohan’s lawsuit claimed that the character is based off a photograph of her taken in 2007. Despite her prominent placement in the game’s marketing, Jonas is a fairly minor character — players meet the famous actress during a mission where they are tasked with helping her escape paparazzi.

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Take-Two Interactive initially responded to the lawsuit by accusing Lohan as a “legally meritless” publicity stunt. The publisher also noted that Lohan has filed frivolous lawsuits in the past, such as when she attempted to sue rapper Pitbull over his lyrics. Lohan followed up by filing a much larger, more detailed version of the lawsuit.

In her decision, Judge Joan Kennedy said that Lohan’s statement showed enough evidence that to allow the lawsuit to move forward, and that Rockstar did not provide sufficient evidence to prove that the character was not based on Lohan. Kennedy also rejected the argument that Lohan should not be allowed to sue because the lawsuit was filed more than a year after the artwork was publicly released.

Since the decision was released, Grand Theft Auto V fans did not respond well to hearing that the lawsuit was not rejected out of hand, with reactions on Twitter calling the lawsuit “stupid” and referring to the actress as a “bimbo.” Voice actor Ned Luke, who played GTA V protagonist Michael, reacted to the news with a tweet comparing Lohan to a cow.

It's a stretch but MAYBE there's a resemblance. #LindsayIsNuts https://t.co/x3IQppzXSK pic.twitter.com/GfUi5gMlMf

— Ned Luke (@ned_luke) March 14, 2016

Despite not having the public — at least not the gaming public — on her side, it appears Lohan will have her day in court.

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Mike Epstein
Mike Epstein
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Michael is a New York-based tech and culture reporter, and a graduate of Northwestwern University’s Medill School of…
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