Mötley Crüe -- Accused of Graphic Robbery
Mötley Crüe is being sued over a sweatshirt ... and it all stems from an iconic photo taken way back in 1981.
The Crüe and Live Nation are being sued by Ron Toma who claims he owns the copyright to the famous "belt buckle photo" .... taken by photog Michael Pinter back in 1981. The band used the photo on the cover of their hit album "Too Fast for Love."
But according to Toma's lawsuit, filed in Illinois Northern District Court, Crüe and Live Nation stole the image without permission and used it on some signature hoodies they're selling on their websites.
Toma is asking a judge to step in ASAP to administer some justice -- blocking MC and Live Nation from using the image without permission. Calls to Mötley Crüe weren't returned.
See also
Nikki Sixx Blasts Bottle Rocket Babe
Nikki Sixx graphically (and hypocritically) bitched out a female fan during a recent concert for doing the exact same thing he did just moments before -- throwing a water bottle.
The Motley Crue bass guitarist went nuclear after a water bottle came flying at him on stage. Only problem: It appears the bottle was the same one he hurled at her 10 seconds earlier.
Don't dish out what you can't take!
Motley Crue Sues Our Managers F'ed Us!
Legendary hard rockers Motley Crue have filed a $20 million lawsuit against one of their managers, claiming "greed," "extortionist tactics" and terrible career advice caused the band to lose millions of dollars in profits and tarnished the band's stellar reputation.
In the lawsuit, filed today in Los Angeles County Superior Court, the four founding members of the band (Nikki Sixx, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Tommy Lee) through Motley Crue Inc., claim manager Carl Stubner and Sanctuary Management Group gave them bad business advice and attempted to "divert revenue from [the band] and redirect it to themselves.
Furthermore, the suit claims, Stubner forced Tommy Lee to "to become engaged in 'reality' projects that were bad career moves for Lee, harming [Sixx, Mars, Neil and Lee], the Motley Crue brand and Lee's own image." The suit calls the low-rated NBC show "Tommy Lee Goes to College" a "critical disappointment and a ratings disaster," adding it painted Lee as "incoherent, lazy and incompetent" and made him "look like a laughing stock who could not carry a drum beat." The suit also claims Lee's participation on "Rock Star: Supernova" "diminished the public's interest in Lee and their overall perception of his musical talents."
Because Lee was so busy doing reality TV, the band says he was unavailable to tour with the Crue, thus causing the cancellation of several key concert dates. The band claims that they lost $8 million in ticket and merchandise revenue because of Lee's scheduling conflicts. These conflicts, the band says, were "both real and concocted" by Stubner to "leverage his control over Lee to his financial advantage and to Motley Crue and Lee's detriment."
A call to Sanctuary was not immediately returned.
UPDATE: Tommy Lee's lawyer Barbara Berkowitz tells TMZ that her client isn't involved in the case. In an email, Berkowitz writes, " Mr. Lee was neither consulted regarding this matter nor authorized the lawsuit. Mr. Lee has not made any allegations against his current personal manager. Mr. Lee feels fortunate to have been part of the Motley Reunion tour, as well as other opportunities outside of Motley Crue over the past several years. It is unfortunate that others believe that they all could have made more money had Mr. Lee exclusively participated in the band that he co-founded in 1980. "
See also
Um... WHO Are You Wearing?
J.Lo has one. So do Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, 50 Cent, Hilary Duff and Eminem. No, we're not talking about Grammys. These days everybody and their mother has a fashion line. That's right we're talking to you Beyonce!
So it should come as no surprise that even marginally famous "stars" are getting in on the couture craze.
Samaire Armstrong briefly starred on "The OC" and "Entourage" as well as in the Lindsay Lohan flop "Just My Luck." Now the aspiring B-lister is branching out to exercise her design chops. Samaire, who started designing by making Halloween costumes and prom dresses, has named her line Naru. Originally only available at exclusive stores in Hawaii, the line will soon expand to stores across the country.
Motley Crüe glam rock relic Nikki Sixx, whose probably more used to taking clothes off women than designing for them, has partnered with Kelly Gray - the former spokesperson for St. Johns Knits who was replaced by Angelina Jolie - to launch a contemporary sportswear line called Royal Underground. Their line will sell in high-end department stores.
With low wattage stars like Samaire and Nikki joining the fashion ranks, it won't be long before we're all wearing Omarosa jeans.