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Cypress Hill backup singer sees himself in Grand Theft Auto, sues Rockstar
Our friends, this next post is fraught with danger, excitement, and West Coast rappers with names like B-Real, Sen Dog, and Michael "Shagg" Washington. Indeed, the latter is alleging that Rockstar appropriated his likeness for the character CJ, a hood in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas whose life apparently shares many details with his own troubled upbringing, "including how the teen-agers in his gang rode around on bicycles," according to his lawyer. It seems that way back in 2003 the Cypress Hill backup singer met with reps from the game studio for a two hour interview "to talk about street life," and the next thing you know, San Andreas is released and you have criminals riding around on bikes! Coincidence? Mr. Shagg doesn't think so, and he's asking for twenty-five percent of Rockstar's profits from the game -- approximately $250 million -- because they've "stolen his image and never paid him." Now that we think of it, isn't there an obsessive gadget blogger in that game that looks awfully familiar? We'd better call our lawyers.
Cypress Hill backup singer suing Rockstar and Take-Two over GTA: San Andreas (seriously)
When you think of Cypress Hill, you probably don't think of riding bicycles around the mean streets of Rockstar's fictional "San Andreas." But perhaps that's where your mind should go, argues backup singer Michael "Shagg" Washington, who's suing the developer (and its publisher, Take-Two Interactive) six years after the game's release. Washington claims he met with Rockstar in 2003 "to talk about street life for the [then] upcoming game," including a description of his "troubled life in his youth" and specifics about "how the teenagers in his gang rode around on bicycles." IGN got its hands on a copy of the suit, which explains that Washington didn't see San Andreas in action until this past July, when his nephew was playing it. "The plaintiff had never seen the game. He did not own or play video games," the complaint admits, further explaining, "Upon examination of images of 'CJ' and comparison to his photos from that year and other evidence, it became clear that Rockstar had stolen his image and never paid him." For Washington's claims, he's asking for 25 percent of Rockstar's profits from San Andreas -- approximately $250 million. Take-Two, unsurprisingly, says the case "is completely without merit" and the publisher "will vigorously defend itself in the matter."
