Lancôme Faces Up to Uma
Thu., May. 8, 2008 5:51 PM PDT
Nancy Kaszerman/ZUMAPress.com
The former face of Lancôme looks angry.
The French cosmetics maker has sued its erstwhile spokesmodel in an attempt to ward off her attempt to collect at least $1 million for the alleged use of her picture in foreign ads after her contract expired in 2005.
Per the complaint filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Lancôme maintains it never "knowingly or intentionally" continued to use Thurman's face to push its products and that any webpages still featuring her old photos were never meant to be publicly available.
But according to her attorney, Thurman, who inked a multimillion-dollar deal with Lancôme in 2000, says her pics showed up on Asian websites and on a Canadian billboard touting the company's Miracle skin-care line. She has not formally filed suit against Lancôme, which is looking to have a judge preemptively rule that the company did not wrongfully use her image.
Lancôme "pulled the pages off as soon as they found out about them," Peter Raymond, one of the company's lawyers, told the New York Daily News. "They didn't even know they were there."
They are also open to a settlement, he said.
But in a letter to Lancôme, Thurman's attorney, Burt Fields, wrote that even $1 million hardly fits the bill.
"Look at the huge free benefit Lancôme gets from using her," Fields told the Daily News. "The French want to accept that benefit without paying for it."
"Obviously, the French have decided they won't even try to resolve this amicably," he said. "So they have filed this sneak attack."
Better this sneak attack than some, of course. Lancôme's action comes two days after avid Uma fan Jack Jordan was convicted of stalking and harassing the Kill Bill star. The presiding judge remanded him to protective custody and ordered a psychological evaluation. Sentencing is scheduled for next month.
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7 Comments
gypsygail Thu, May 8, 2008 8:19 PM
I'm just glad they are finally doing something about this stalker! Who needs nuts like that running around getting away with harassing and stalking anyone. Good for Uma for standing up to it. She's a classy lady who deserves her own rights, peace and safety.
Reportpetunia0203 Thu, May 8, 2008 8:27 PM
E!, you guys are really overdoing it with "erstwhile". I know you think it makes you sound smart and like real journalists, but when we start to see that is the only "big" word you know, it has the opposite effect.
Reportfelix20086 Fri, May 9, 2008 2:00 AM
she is older than i expect.someone said that she joined an online service Wealthykiss.c o m it is a site where people are wealthy and they're looking for companionship romance or love. i don't know if it is true. it is horrible.
Reportjade719 Fri, May 9, 2008 6:06 AM
gypsygail, what artile did you read? This article has nothing to do with her stalker.
ReportSavage_one Fri, May 9, 2008 6:29 AM
She looks terrible in this photo. When you "look her in the eye" which one are you supposed to look at? Her right eye in this photo is definitely seeing something different than her left eye.
ReportMelinda Sat, May 10, 2008 2:34 PM
Why is the attorney referring to the company as "the French"? Seems inappropriate. Especially since they're a multinational. Does he refer to MacDonalds as "the Americans"? Haha
ReportAdman Sat, May 10, 2008 2:55 PM
A big company like L'Oreal * Lancome should have some shame, that even after they got caught with their pants down, they didnt settle with one of their favorite spokespersons. Foreign companies with Internationsl markets cheat actors,celebs, models all the time bu using their image and avoiding paying them. Shame on L'Oreal/Lancome execs!!!
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