14 DAY TRIAL // Former “Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl is taking legal action against a giant drugstore chain based in New York because they used a paparazzi photo of her on their Twitter and Facebook pages.
And she’s going in for the kill no less, The Wrap reports: in court papers filed the other day, Heigl is asking for “no less than $6 million [€4.3 million]” in damages from Duane Reade because they used said photo to announce that she had visited one of their locations.
The original tweet, which went out on March 18, is below. It includes a photo of Katherine coming out of a Duane Reade shop with two bags and the caption, “Love a quick #DuaneReade run? Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC's favorite drugstore.”
From the fact that the tweet includes the actress’ Twitter handle, it’s pretty clear that they didn’t think it would be a problem using her photo. The actress begs to differ, saying in court papers that they’re using the pic illegally for commercial gain and, at the same time, implying that she’s endorsing them.
“The suit claims that Heigl has expressed a ‘strenuous objection’ to the use of her photo, to no avail,” The Wrap reports, suggesting that Heigl’s people contacted the drugstore chain to have the photo removed but they would not comply with the request.
Should a judge side with Heigl, she plans on donating the money to the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, which focuses on animal welfare, says the same report.
Reps for both Heigl and Duane Reade refused to comment on the ongoing litigation when contacted by the media, but the position of the drugstore chain seems clear from their most recent tweet, which is actually a retweet from former CNN journalist Piers Morgan.
“Hi @DuaneReade - unlike @KatieHeigl , I am very happy to be photographed coming out of your excellent stores. And feel free to tweet it,” he writes.
It’s not rare to have celebrities react to the unauthorized use of their image with litigation because, under the right set of circumstances, they could make a lot of money if they actually did endorse that product or company.
Heigl might not be able to command a $6 million (€4.3 million) paycheck for an endorsement deal, so she’s probably asking this kind of money as damages to make a point – a theory that seems to be supported by her plan to donate all the money she gets if she wins the case.
Love a quick #DuaneReade run? Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC's favorite drugstore http://t.co/l4Ge1lEKL9 pic.twitter.com/uGTc3k1Mii
— Duane Reade (@DuaneReade) March 18, 2014