Bobby Brown has sued Showtime and the BBC, alleging unauthorized footage was used in a 2017 documentary on his late ex-wife Whitney Houston.
Compaints were filed in federal court in New York on Wednesday by both Brown and the estate of the couple’s late daughter Bobbi Kristina.
Brown claims that he never gave consent to use the footage in Whitney: Can I Be Me. Originally used in the 2005 Bravo reality series Being Bobby Brown, it was shot before he and Houston divorced. Brown adds that the documentary also uses unauthorized video of his other children, Landon Brown, Robert “Bobby” Brown Junior and LaPrincia Brown, as minors.
In his complaint, Brown states, “Every person should have the right to control how their identity or likeness or personality, or voice, name or image is commercialized by others.” He is seeking at least $2 million for violating his right of publicity and false advertising. Brown also wants an injunction to halt the film’s distribution. (USA Today)
Fasho Thoughts:
- Why did he wait so long? The film debuted at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival and then aired in the U.S. on Showtime.
- There’s no way to put the genie back in the bottle. Thousands, perhaps millions have seen the documentary.
- Brown says that one of the producers approached him in 2016 about an interview.
- Did refusing the interview lead the creative team to try to paint Brown as the villain?
Source: CS / CS
