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Court Dismisses Privacy Lawsuit Against Joan Rivers
Author: Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC
Date: January 25, 2013
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Privacy Lawsuit Dismissed
Joan Rivers is not always known for her tactful language and political correctness, but a recent appeals court sided with the comedian in a recent privacy lawsuit brought on by fan who attended a show that appeared in Rivers’ 2010 documentary.
The plaintiff, Ann Bogie, was filmed having a discussion with Joan Rivers during the autograph session of the show backstage, and ultimately filed suit after the 16-second clip appeared in the “Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work” documentary, arguing that she had a reasonable expectation of privacy. The documentary features a show in Wisconsin, during which the 76-year-old made a Helen Keller joke that offended an audience member, who interrupted the show to remark that his son was deaf and he found the quip offensive.
“Oh please, you are so stupid,” Rivers said. “Comedy is to make everybody laugh at everything and deal with things. You idiot.”
Backstage following the encounter, Bogie told Rivers she “had never laughed so hard in her life,” and called the heckler in the audience a “rotten guy.” When the clip appeared in the documentary, Bogie sued Rivers and said the surprise appearance in the film misappropriated her image and violated her privacy. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision that dismissed Bogie’s privacy claims and asserted that no person could have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a backstage area.
“Assuming that Bogie was invited backstage, that would not advance her claim of a reasonable expectation of privacy,” Judge David Hamilton wrote for the panel. “The film shows that any such invitation was to obtain a backstage autograph from a celebrity in the presence of several security personnel and a film crew. No reasonable person would expect privacy in that situation.”
This is not the first time audience members that have appeared in documentaries have brought privacy suits against celebrities. Several people who appeared in a number of Sacha Baron Cohen films, including Borat, sued the actor and argued that he violated several provisions of entertainment law. However, nearly all of these plaintiffs lost their lawsuits.
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