Blogger Sued for Topless Aniston Photo
LOS ANGELES, Feb 22, 2007 - Universal Studios is suing celebrity blogger Perez Hilton of Los Angeles, accusing him of posting a stolen photo of a topless Jennifer Aniston.
Universal City Studios Productions alleged that the shot posted on perezhilton.com was “misappropriated and illegally copied,” E! News said.
The suit said Hilton “illegally obtained a copy of all or part of the stolen footage” that was shot and then stolen during production or post-production of the film “The Break-up.”
The shot of Aniston, 38, didn’t end up in the final cut of the comedy, which grossed more than $118 million at the box office last summer.
Attorneys for Hilton, whose real name is Mario Lavandeira, said the picture could be viewed on other Web sites. Since Hilton published the picture “for the purpose of commentary and satire,” his actions constitute fair use, his lawyers argued.
“It is unfortunate that Universal has chosen to bring this lawsuit as our client has done nothing wrong,” attorney Bryan Freedman said in a statement.
Hilton removed the picture when he learned of Universal’s request, the attorney said.
