Surprised to see Annie Hall-themed ads from American Apparel last year? You weren’t the only one.
Woody Allen has filed a lawsuit against American Apparel, saying the company’s 2007 ad campaign was unauthorized, “egregious and damaging,” and went against his policy of not endorsing commercial products in America. From Variety:
The lawsuit complained of a billboard featuring a frame from “Annie Hall,” a film that won Allen a best director Oscar. The image showed Allen dressed as a Hasidic Jew with a long beard and black hat and Yiddish text meaning “the holy rebbe.” The words “American Apparel” also were on the billboard.
Allen’s suit seeks at least $10 million in compensatory damages, plus what Variety refers to as “unspecified punitive damages.”
Source: Variety
