Kevin Mazur/Getty ImagesUPDATE: Defendant Vanessa Sena agreed to pay Song $16,000 in damages for using the actress' photo in an escort service ad. The judgment must be paid out by Dec. 1 or Sena, who also penned a letter of apology, risks owing Song $100,000.
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Disney starlet Brenda Song has reached a tentative settlement in her libel suit against a company who allegedly used her image in a newspaper ad for an escort service without her permission.
Needless to say, the Mouser never would have agreed to have her photo appear alongside the slogan, "Hawaiin [sic] beauty. Come get lei'd." Yet, the ads for Cityvibe.com appeared in several April 2008 editions of the L.A. Weekly.
The 20-year-old The Suite Life of Zack & Cody actress filed her complaint against Vibe Media Inc. and its owner, Ali Askari, in Los Angeles Superior Court on April 25, 2008, seeking more than $100,000 in damages for libel, intentional infliction of emotional distress and commercial misappropriation of her photo and likeness. The suit was amended a month later, naming Vanessa Sena of San Bernardino County as the defendant accused of taking the photo of Song from the Internet and using it in the ad.
According to Song's attorney, Laurence B. Steinberg, terms of the settlement agreement are still being finalized. He would not discuss the case outside the courtroom to maintain confidentiality.
A hearing is set for Feb. 25.
(Originally published Jan. 26, 2009 at 11:58 a.m. PT)