Alba Threatens Playboy Over Cover Pic (Edit: video added)

[jale]

6 Page Legal Document to Playboy from Jessica's Attorney
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2 Page Letter to Playboy from Sony Pictures
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Actress: Magazine wants readers to think she's in a nude pictorial

FEBRARY 28--Actress Jessica Alba, who appears in a bikini on the cover of Playboy's March issue, is threatening to sue the magazine, claiming that Hugh Hefner & Co. are trying to make it seem that she appears in a "nude or semi-nude pictorial." In a February 23 legal threat letter, a copy of which you'll find below, Alba's lawyer demands that Playboy cease distributing the magazine and provide the 25-year-old actress with a "monetary settlement" for its unauthorized use of her image for commercial purposes. According to Brian Wolf, Alba's counsel, the venerable men's magazine has caused the young star "immeasurable harm" by placing her on its cover (Alba appears next to a cover line billboarding a story on the 25 sexiest celebrities). Wolf charges that Playboy initially offered to pay Alba to appear on the cover, but that they were flatly turned down. The magazine, he added, then resorted to a ruse to obtain a promotional photo of a bikini-clad Alba from Columbia Pictures. That sultry image, from the film "Into the Blue," appears on Playboy's cover. Along with the legal letter from Wolf, a partner at the Los Angeles firm Lavely & Singer, Playboy also received a February 24 letter from a Columbia executive expressing the studio's dismay over the "outrageous, unethical behavior utilized by Playboy personnel to obtain" the Alba promotional photograph. While reserving its legal rights, the studio is demanding an apology for both it and Alba.

Edit: Even CNN has picked up the story now with a >3 min long video. Streaming version of the video from cnn.com here. Downloadable version from rapidshare here.

[ March 06, 2006, 05:24 AM: Message edited by: jale ]

[social_misfit]

"Based on the foregoing, demand is hereby made that:

3. Playboy provide Ms. Alba with a monetary settlement, in an amount to be determined, sufficient to compensate her for the damages and immeasurable harm caused to her good name, reputation and career."
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0228062alba5.html

:rolleyes:

[ March 01, 2006, 06:21 AM: Message edited by: social_misfit ]

Well, she's going to lose.

That's my girl! Take it to 'em Jess! Guess I'm now officially a prophet, eh rh71? Maybe I should start buying lottery tickets. Or, even better, maybe I should push to become her agent since the suing idea was mine and I was ahead of the curve on it. She's probably not going to get the mag pulled from the shelves, though. If I had been her agent, though, we could've stopped this before they hit the shelves, though. Kudos to my girl, though, for comin' out swingin' like Sonny Liston!!

[Jessica Alba's Lover]

i knew it. i kew she she didn't give permission. playboy shuld be ashamed of there selfs. trying to boost there sales with her on the cover. don't they know no means no?

Originally posted by Jessica Alba's Lover:
i knew it. i kew she she didn't give permission. playboy shuld be ashamed of there selfs. trying to boost there sales with her on the cover. don't they know no means no?

Playboy doesn't need permission for Alba, they only need permission form the owners of the photos.

You think Britney Spears gives all those tabloid magazines her permission? :rolleyes:

[Jessica Alba's Lover]

Originally posted by [D]:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jessica Alba's Lover:
i knew it. i kew she she didn't give permission. playboy shuld be ashamed of there selfs. trying to boost there sales with her on the cover. don't they know no means no?

Playboy doesn't need permission for Alba, they only need permission form the owners of the photos.

You think Britney Spears gives all those tabloid magazines her permission? :rolleyes: </font>[/QUOTE]those rag magazine don't mean nothing but this isa major big time magazine whewre talking about.

you just can slap someones photo on playboy if they don't want you too.

Originally posted by Jessica Alba's Lover:
those rag magazine don't mean nothing but this isa major big time magazine whewre talking about.

you just can slap someones photo on playboy if they don't want you too.

They don't mean nothing? ***** please, you know how many lifes those magazines ruin? you call that nothing?

And yes you can put someone else's photo... but you don't have to. That's life.

[Jessica Alba's Lover]

Originally posted by [D]:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jessica Alba's Lover:
those rag magazine don't mean nothing but this isa major big time magazine whewre talking about.

you just can slap someones photo on playboy if they don't want you too.

They don't mean nothing? ***** please, you know how many lifes those magazines ruin? you call that nothing?

And yes you can put someone else's photo... but you don't have to. That's life. </font>[/QUOTE]whatever i'm just gonna ignore. i'm not gonna get in trouble because of you. and because there's a little thing called rights.

[ March 01, 2006, 02:04 PM: Message edited by: Jessica Alba's Lover ]

[rh71]

Wow PB really had ballz to do that. I'm shocked they didn't at least get her consent (even if they legally didn't have to). Maybe if they did, Alba wouldn't even want monetary compensation for it... then again, she would've likely said no, especially if it would tarnish her image (as she said - it makes people think she appeared nude).

Nothing really more to say about it other than it's really low of them. Good call CZ.

[ March 01, 2006, 02:06 PM: Message edited by: rh71 ]

[Jessica Alba's Lover]

Originally posted by rh71:
Wow PB really had ballz to do that. I'm shocked they didn't at least get her consent (even if they legally didn't have to). Maybe if they did, Alba wouldn't even want monetary compensation for it... then again, she would've likely said no, especially if it would tarnish her image (as she said - it makes people think she appeared nude).

Nothing really more to say about it other than it's really low of them. Good call CZ.

in the thing i said they asked in september of last year and they denied and they still did it anyway. but your right that's low on PB's part.

Originally posted by [D]:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Jessica Alba's Lover:
those rag magazine don't mean nothing but this isa major big time magazine whewre talking about.

you just can slap someones photo on playboy if they don't want you too.

They don't mean nothing? ***** please, you know how many lifes those magazines ruin? you call that nothing?

</font>[/QUOTE]dude, settle down.

the fact is she is suing them because she can. you can sue anybody for anything at anytime. it's just that the burden of proof is on you. i'm in the process of getting sued right now, and beleive me it sucks. i'm sure she will stick it to playboy. playboy should have more class than those trashy tabloid magazines also. and thats straight up real. especially if they already asked if they could use her picture and she declined. i guess though it will make those other copies that are pulled off the shelves more valuable. i bet jessica would want you guys to throw them away. would you do it if she asked her fans to do that, anyone?

cheers

Originally posted by [D]:
[/qb]

Playboy doesn't need permission for Alba, they only need permission form the owners of the photos.

You think Britney Spears gives all those tabloid magazines her permission? :rolleyes: [/QB][/QUOTE]

I think you're right but you're also wrong. You're talking about two separate issues here. Spontaneous, on the street pics of stars always cover the tabs' behinds and are legal but, in this case, they essentially stole the pic from ITB, a movie w/specific promo rules and guidelines for marketing. It appears as though Jess had the rights to her shots for the movie since they went to her and not the production company for approval on them (another business-savvy move on her part-you go girl!). Since she said no and they did it anyway, she DOES have grounds to sue over them doing it anyway. It's a lot different than the National Enquirer slapping shots of her on the beach on their cover and making money. I don't think she'll get the mags pulled but I smell a good settlement coming to her. I love her for doing it. Show 'em that Latina Heat, J!

[Jessica Alba's Lover]

Originally posted by Lobo:
dude, settle down.

the fact is she is suing them because she can. you can sue anybody for anything at anytime. it's just that the burden of proof is on you. i'm in the process of getting sued right now, and beleive me it sucks. i'm sure she will stick it to playboy. playboy should have more class than those trashy tabloid magazines also. and thats straight up real. especially if they already asked if they could use her picture and she declined. i guess though it will make those other copies that are pulled off the shelves more valuable. i bet jessica would want you guys to throw them away. would you do it if she asked her fans to do that, anyone?

cheers [/QB]

hell i'd do almost anything thing she asked me. now that this is happening i'd like to see someone ask for her to autograph herPB cover. i wonder what she would say and how she would react. i guess it's still a good thing i never opened that issue i got.

[Jessica Alba's Lover]

Originally posted by C_Zman:
I think you're right but you're also wrong. You're talking about two separate issues here. Spontaneous, on the street pics of stars always cover the tabs' behinds and are legal but, in this case, they essentially stole the pic from ITB, a movie w/specific promo rules and guidelines for marketing. It appears as though Jess had the rights to her shots for the movie since they went to her and not the production company for approval on them (another business-savvy move on her part-you go girl!). Since she said no and they did it anyway, she DOES have grounds to sue over them doing it anyway. It's a lot different than the National Enquirer slapping shots of her on the beach on their cover and making money. I don't think she'll get the mags pulled but I smell a good settlement coming to her. I love her for doing it. Show 'em that Latina Heat, J! [/QB]

she those are two totally different thing. those are trash mags they don't know better but playboy should have.

they should learn that no means no! i say go get them jess!

While I am not normally a fan of lawsuits, way to go, way to go, way to go. I thank God and only wish this could do far, far more damage to Playboy than it will. I am not a lawyer but I am sure they do need her permission. They obtained the picture fraudulently, against her expressed permission (why would they bother asking her and fraudulently obtain the rights if they didn't need her permission) and it is absolutely cashing in on her name, image and reputation to sell their smut. The original letter from the lawyers is awesome, citing numerous relevant cases. For anyone who doesn't think pornography is damaging it is. It is not free speech. It is a travesty in this country wounding and hurting the people in the industry and the people who look at it. I do know because I have sinned and I can tell you pornography has damaged me and others. Oh yes, I have free will and I chose to sin, but the easy accessibility and rampant publication of it has only hurt people. We call it free speech. We tell kids they can't pray out loud in schools, but pornography is just free speech. Yeah, right. It is degrading to women, it hurts men and women. It is a rampant sin in our country. God bless Jessica Alba and this is one lawsuit I hope does as much damage as it possibly, possibly can to the evils Playboy promotes.

Wow. That is a lot to take in.
I didn't think that it made much sense they were recycling a photo for their cover, does Playboy do that often?

I skimmed through most of letter, but I got the jist of it. Apparently Playboy was very sly in the way they went about aquiring a photo of Jessica. Sneaky bastards! Really.

Damn.
She can win.
She has rights.
It's HER IMAGE, also it's Sony's product (the picture) they are using, and if proven that they lied to get ahold of it, then Playboy has a tanned hide, that's worth a spanking. ;)

For this reason alone, I am glad I am not "celebrity" material. Heh.

i'm sure she is going to be able to afford a high priced lawyer also. she will definitely win this case.

cheers

I wasn't impressed with her role in Fantastic Four and Into the Blue. But I AM impressed with her taking a stand against an issue like this.

I found it to be such an insult to the demographic's intellegence to put her on the cover like that to make them beleive she's nude or semi nude, to SELL more. Not only that, I'm sick of magazines reusing pictures that were already used on other magazine covers.

JIGSAW - I'M SICK OF IT ALL

[Jessica Alba's Lover]

Originally posted by Lobo:
i'm sure she is going to be able to afford a high priced lawyer also. she will definitely win this case.

cheers

i know whats this world come to when one can't protect there own image.
plus what about the emotion feelings she is feeling now? or her privacy? here is jessica froma quote from herself

"Playboy has violated my personal rights and blatantly misled the public, who might think I had given them permission to put me on their cover when I didn't," says Alba in a statement. "I'm simply protecting my personal rights and I hope that they will think twice before they try to do this to someone else."

some stuff from sony talking about PB.
Colombia Pictures have also written to Hefner, slamming the "outrageous, unethical behavior utilized by Playboy personnel to obtain" the racy shot

i like the words they used."unethical" that describes playboy excatly. they got it dead on center.