Fashion Police

For a brief moment, Crimes and Misdemeanors threatened to be more than just a movie title for Woody Allen. But not anymore.

American Apparel has agreed pay $5 million to settle Allen's lawsuit against the clothing company.

"I am told the settlement of $5 million I am being paid is the largest amount ever paid under the New York right to privacy law," the 72-year-old told reporters outside the courthouse.

Allen added that he hoped the settlement "would discourage American Apparel or anyone else from ever trying such a thing again."

The last-minute settlement was announced this morning, after Allen had already arrived at the Manhattan federal courthouse where he was due to take the stand as the first witness of the trial.

The Oscar-winning auteur was seeking $10 million from the company after it used an unauthorized still of him from Annie Hall on billboards as well as on the brand's website.

"American Apparel calculatingly took my name, my likeness, and image and used them publicly to promote their business," he said in a separate statement.

"Threats and press leaks by American Apparel designed to smear me did not work and a scheme to call a long list of witnesses who had nothing to do with the case was disallowed by the court. I hope this very large settlement will discourage American Apparel and other from doing this type of thing to myself or others in the future."

American Apparel CEO Dov Charney was also present at the courthouse and made clear that it was not his decision to settle with the director, rather that of the attorneys for the hipster clothier's insurance company, which is footing the bill for the hefty legal fee.

"I'm not sorry of expressing myself," Charney said, going on to say that he "would never try to malign the dignity of Mr. Allen."

"I hope to meet him on more friendly terms at a different point."

As it is, the ad that launched the lawsuit showed Allen dressed as a rabbi and featured Hebrew script, translated as "the holy rebbe," under which simply read the name of the company. The billboards were placed in New York and Los Angeles for just one week, but apparently left a lasting impression—and on no one more than the director.

Allen filed suit against the company in March, alleging that the ads were "especially egregious and damaging" to his reputation, as he notoriously never lends his image to commercial campaigns.

American Apparel, meanwhile, had long claimed it was within their First Amendment rights to use the photo and went so far as to say that Allen's image, used with permission or not, could not possibly damage the director's image—that image, they claimed, was already damaged beyond repair by Allen himself, thanks to past personal indiscretions.

The suit soon got nasty, with attorneys for American Apparel claiming they would call Mia Farrow and her adoptive daughter turned Allen's wife Soon-Yi Previn (aka Exhibit A) to the stand.

Last week, however, the tide began to turn when Charney, himself more than familiar with the pitfalls of a negative public reputation, denied on the company's blog that it would bring up Allen's past and even claimed to be the director's No. 1 fan.

"I have deep respect for Mr. Allen, who is a source of inspiration for me," he wrote.

Ironically, now it's Charney who will be the source of something deep for Allen...namely, his pockets.

______

Follow us on Twitter @eonline and get our free iPhone app