Rockstar Sued Over Use of Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Character Auntie Poulet

Vice City character played by Miss Cleo

Given the controversial and massively referential nature of the Grand Theft Auto game series, Rockstar Games has been no stranger to litigation issues. From the “Hot Coffee” debacle that caught the ire of many politicians, to the lawsuits from Lindsay Lohan and Mob Wives star Karen Gravano over Grand Theft Auto V characters that they claimed used their likenesses, or life stories to some extent without permission, the legal team at Rockstar has certainly had their work cut out for them. Now, despite Grand Theft Auto: Vice City being more than a decade old, a new lawsuit over one particular Vice City character has emerged.

TMZ has reported on this new lawsuit between Rockstar Games and the Psychic Readers Network (PRN), the production network behind famed television psychic hotline star Miss Cleo (Youree Harris). The lawsuit is over the Vice City character Auntie Poulet, the leader of the Haitian gang in Vice City that recruits the game’s protagonist Tommy Vercetti in her turf war against the Cuban gang in the game. Miss Cleo herself actually lent voice work for the character, and the similarities between the TV persona and game character can be well seen in the identical Jamaican accent and physical resemblance. Due to the fact that PRN holds rights to the public personality, it is being claimed that copyright is being infringed.

It was also reported that “PRN claims it’s spent well over $100 million creating and promoting Miss Cleo’s persona over the years, and that Rockstar and co. have gone on to make more than $500 mil exploiting it’s character.” They also note the odd nature of the suit considering the game released over a decade ago, but because the game still sells on digital platforms like iOS and Steam, there may be some merit at play. Still, Rockstar has responded saying, “These claims are entirely meritless and completely ridiculous.”

This will certainly be interesting to watch as it unfolds. What do you guys think? Are you intrigued by this lawsuit over Vice City character Auntie Poulet? Let us know in the comments below! Be sure to stay tuned for the latest Rockstar Games news, such as their response to the shutdown of the GTA V OpenIV Mod, here on Don’t Feed the Gamers! Follow us on Twitter to see our updates the minute they go live!

Cory Lara2137 Posts

A royally radical and totally tubular 90s kid, Cory has a passion for all things nerdy, particularly gaming and nostalgia. While an accountant by day, he strives to be as creative and humorous as possible in his free time, be it here writing on Don't Feed the Gamers, or making dumb satirical posts on his Twitter, Youtube, Facebook and Instagram accounts.

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