Woody Allen Settles for $5M of Dov Charney's Money

Sadly, the world won't see Woody Allen face off with Dov Charney in a courtroom. Not today, at least. American Apparel has posted the following statement on their website: "Today the lawsuit filed against American Apparel by Woody Allen will settle whereby he will receive a $5M payment. The vast majority of this payment will be paid by our insurance carrier who is responsible for the decision to settle this case and has controlled the defense of this case since its inception. Naturally there is some relief of not having to go through a trial but I also harbor a sense of remorse and sadness for not arguing an important issue regarding the First Amendment, particularly the ability of an individual or corporation to invoke the likeness of a public figure in a satiric and social statement."

Mr. Charney continues saying his company "had a good case," and that even if the billboard was found to have a dual commercial/expressive purpose that they would still be protected by the First Amendment (which he's touched upon before). And in fact, he says, "Allen himself has referenced many public figures over the course of his long career, often for the purpose of parody, such as Fidel Castro in the movie Bananas." Now that he can talk freely about the case, brevity is not a concern—Charney continues, asserting that the billboard was meant to "create a parallel between the sentiment of that moment in the film [Annie Hall] and what my company and I were experiencing at the time." You know, those pesky sexual harassment lawsuits where he was accused of conducting job interviews in his underwear (it should be noted that, in his own words, "two years later, all the claims in the lawsuits have been completely disproven").

He goes on to say that, "My intention was to call upon people to see beyond media and lawsuit-inspired scandal, and to consider people for their true value and for their contribution to society." So everyone, please take the next few moments to consider Charney's latest contribution to society: the return of the Scrunchie.

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By Jen Carlson in News on May 18, 2009 12:06 PM

Comments [rss]

yamaturturro

So that's interesting. Maybe I just don't understand it, but the insurance company is footing the bill. They probably, more than likely, hired that defense attorney as well. Either way, his sentiment about "true value" and "contributions to society" seems kind of lofty, though I believe it because of what American Apparel has done before.

"The billboards were designed to inspire dialogue. They were certainly never intended to sell clothes. (And they didn't. We recently hired a market-research company to determine the commercial impact, if any, of the billboards; they found they had no impact on anyone's decision to shop at our stores.) This was not the first time we used a billboard for something other than to promote our products. Before and since we've used them to express social messages--including, for example, our support of immigration reform."

They've got those Legalize Gay shirts too now against Prop 8. In the grand scheme of things, especially in the industry of making clothes, they've done a lot of good things, but we only really talk about them when they do something stupid. Which is true of just about everyone. It's not exactly an "ah-ha" moment, but I can actually see where he's coming from. In a really backwards way, Woody still helped them get across the message.

felixthecat2

5 million for a picture of a child abusers and sexual deviant, wow.

God Bless America.

spiritross

Woody Allen is an filmmaker that uses satire to make art - that is covered by the 1st amendment.

So are a worthless business man that thinks your shit don't stink that uses satire to make money - that makes the 1st amendment make to vomit all over you.

Mr Mel

I hope Woody will do something charitable with the award. I think the money should go to a child abuse prevention agency.

Snoopy

Are you sure you can use that picture of Woody Allen? Aren't you afraid of getting sued? It shows him with the hair color of Donald Trump. How old is that picture?

mihow

That guy is so gross. It still astounds me why so many folks try so hard to look like him in my neighborhood (Williamsburg). I am, however, a crotchety mother. So maybe I just don't get kids these days.

He looks like a cross between a pedophile and someone from the movie Deep Throat. And I'm only now realizing that he probably would find this a compliment.

Ah well.

imadick

are you talking about woody or dovy?

mihow

Sorry. Dovy. Good point.

babyhitler

As much as I appreciate AA's porn aesthetics, how the hell can you stay in business selling 80's aerobics clothes? I heard that AA was on the verge of bankruptcy and it doesn't help that your store looks like it was inspired by Olivia Newton John's "Physical". Now, this woody debacle has made them 5m poorer. I was kinda hoping for a douchebag for child toucher showdown but alas it was not to be.