Michael Becker / FOXEven more embarrassing than having your host attempt to give a blind guy a high-five on national television? Having your name associated with a stripper contest, according to the morally upstanding producers of American Idol.
Apparently, it's a fine line between bikini girl and amateur exotic dancer.
FremantleMedia, which owns the Idol franchise, has filed a federal lawsuit against an Austin strip club over its three-month-old "Stripper Idol" contest, which awards $500 per week to its most well-endowed exhibitionist patrons.
The suit, which aims to stop the Palazio Men's Club contest from continuing, as well as collect on its profits, claims the R-rated strip-down is a trademark violation that tarnishes the good reputation of the TV juggernaut.
Fremantle further claims the club's publicity for the Thursday night event—T-shirts and print ads—uses a logo too similar in "color scheme, design and font" to American Idol's and may further confuse people into believing the show is an actual endorser of the contest.
"Defendants are infringing upon FremantleMedia's trademark rights," the suit states. "There is a substantial likelihood that consumers will be confused, misled or deceived as to the sponsorship...of the defendants' stripper talent contest."
Club operations manager Scott Stevenson, meanwhile, denied to the Dallas Morning News that the contest bore any resemblance to the show and said that while he has no plans to stop the event, which has grown in popularity thanks to the lawsuit, he will, if necessary, change the logo.
Not that he thinks he should have to.
"I didn't know you could copyright an oval."