Scarlett Johansson Wins Lawsuit: French Author Created Character After Her
Actress Scarlett Johansson recently won a defamation lawsuit against French novelist Gregoire Delacourt.
Delacourt reportedly created a book character who highly resembled the 29 year-old actress.
The character is fictional model Jeanine Foucamprez, who is reportedly depicted as overtly sexualized in the book. In the book, she has two affairs and several failed attempts at love.
Though Delacourt claimed the character was made to honor and pay tribute to Johansson, Johansson's lawyer argued that the novel presents her as a "sex object," BBC News reported.
"It was meant as the highest praise," Delacourt told BBC News. "She is an archetypal beauty of our times, very human with a touching fragility."
The court felt otherwise and responded, "For Scarlett Johansson, the fact that she is attributed to relationships that she never mentioned herself is hurtful and demeaning."
Delacourt's book is titled "The First Thing We Look At (La Premiere Chose Qu'on Regarde)." It was published in March 2013 and has sold 100,000 copies.
Delacourt's attempt to pay homage to Scarlett Johansson did not work.
Johansson had sought to obtain 50,000 euros in damages for the "fraudulent use of her personal rights."
Johansson also had sought to ban the novel's translation or film adaptation. The court denied that request as well and only awarded her 2,500 euros, along with her request to take the stories of the two affairs out of the book, the Guardian reported.
Though Johansson and her team are happy to have won the case, Delacourt's team was naturally upset with the verdict.
According to BBC News, "Johansson's lawyer said he was 'extremely pleased' with the verdict, but Mr. Delacourt's legal team declared the compensation 'derisory.'"
Is Scarlett Johansson overreacting over Delacourt's story, or was Delacourt wrong for using Johansson's likeness in his book? Share your comments below.
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