Live Nation Defends Cowboys Uniforms as 'Parody' — SkimNews
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders sued My Chemical Romance and Live Nation in a complaint dated Oct. 23 that didn't appear on the Collin County docket until Monday, alleging the knockoff blue-and-white uniforms infringed the squad's protectable trade dress and seeking an emergency restraining order ahead of two more shows.
- Live Nation is defending the costumes in a new federal-court filing, calling the skit a "successful parody" in which no viewers believed the dancers were real cheerleaders — "recognition is not confusion," according to the filing.
- My Chemical Romance's manager declared the costumes were never intended for use beyond the Oct. 21, 23 and 24 Hollywood Bowl performances, and music attorney David Byrnes emailed the cheerleaders on Tuesday saying there was "no need to proceed" with the restraining order request because those shows had ended.
- A Collin County docket entry said an agreement had been reached after no lawyer for the band appeared at the expected courtroom showdown, apparently resolving the emergency restraining order dispute while the underlying case continues.
- Pro Silver Star said it is not asking the band to change its setlist, narrative, politics, choreography "or even their decision to put gun-toting performers on stage" — only that those performers not wear the DCC uniform — and is seeking unspecified profits and damages, a trial, and a permanent injunction barring future use.
- At the Hollywood Bowl, dancers in star-spangled cheer uniforms stormed the stage with rifles drawn at black-clad troops representing a fictional dictatorship, followed by a mock gun battle; Pro Silver Star called the scene "degrading" to a brand built on "decades of entertaining American troops."
Why it matters: The cheerleaders' emergency restraining order became unnecessary once My Chemical Romance's attorney noted the Oct. 21, 23 and 24 Hollywood Bowl performances were already over. What remains is the trademark claim in federal court, where Pro Silver Star seeks unspecified damages and a permanent injunction against future use of the costumes.
Ask SkimNews
