Everyone knows who Madonna, Beyonce and Oprah are without uttering their last names, but what about Lindsay? That question lies at the heart of actress Lindsay Lohan's defamation lawsuit against E-Trade alleging they used her likeness in a television commercial, according to a Reuters article.
E-Trade's legal team is trying to sway a New York judge to dismiss the case, but her New York personal injury lawyer recently filed her own papers in an attempt to block the motion.
Lindsay Lohan filed suit in response to an advertisement in which one baby refers to another baby named Lindsay who is a "milkaholic" and a "bimbus." The actress believes it was a sly attack on her, given the star's own struggles with substance abuse.
But is "Lindsay the milkoholic, bimbus baby" an intentional reference to Lindsay Lohan the troubled actress?
According to E-Trade's lawyers, there are about 250,000 women named Lindsay in the United States. They also point out other celebrities such as Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn and tennis pro Lindsay Davenport. And unlike Madonna, Beyonce, Oprah and even Cher, Lindsay Lohan has not secured a legal trademark on her first name.
Firing back at E-Trade, attorney Stephanie Ovadia argues that even common names such as "Hillary," "Paris" and "Bush" conjure specific individuals in a given context.
"If Defendants take this name, 'Lindsay' in context of a celebrity name then by Defendants' own admission, there are only a few limited celebrities with this name around, and this number may not be more than four or five."
She goes on to say that by process of elimination, only Lindsay Lohan's public image fits into the milkoholic/alcoholic bimbus reference and that E-Trade was making the reference for comedic value.
That's right, Lindsay Lohan's own lawyer is defending her by trying to protect "her potentially iconic alcoholic bimbodom," as Reuters so eloquently puts it.
Related Resources:
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Lindsay Lohan Sues Over E-Trade Talking Babies Commercial (FindLaw's Celebrity Justice Blog)
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