The backup singer of hip-hop outfit Cypress Hill, Michael "Shagg" Washington, has raised a lawsuit against the developer of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar Games.
The lawsuit claims that the character Carl "CJ" Johnson was the source of the likeness for Washington, using his image and life story as reference.
Although San Andreas has been on sale for around six years to date, the rapper only learned of the similarity between himself and the in-game character via a nephew in July this year.
The complaint details that "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." The rapper has demanded 25% of the game's overall profits which would come to a total of $250m for fraud, misappropriation of likeness and infringement.
Publisher Take-Two has said it will fight the court case. In the meantime, you can view the PDF of the complaint here.
Source: Xbox360
The lawsuit claims that the character Carl "CJ" Johnson was the source of the likeness for Washington, using his image and life story as reference.
Although San Andreas has been on sale for around six years to date, the rapper only learned of the similarity between himself and the in-game character via a nephew in July this year.
The complaint details that "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." The rapper has demanded 25% of the game's overall profits which would come to a total of $250m for fraud, misappropriation of likeness and infringement.
Publisher Take-Two has said it will fight the court case. In the meantime, you can view the PDF of the complaint here.
Source: Xbox360
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