The lawsuit filed by the 'Jersey Shore' star in Florida stems from Abercrombie and Fitch's August claim that the company has offered substantial payment for him not to wear its apparel.
- November 16, 2011
AceShowbiz -
The Situation is taking his feud with Abercrombie & Fitch to a new level. On Tuesday, November 15, the "Jersey Shore" star, whose real name is Mike Sorrentino, filed a lawsuit against the clothing company in federal court in southern Florida, claiming that it is profited off of its "false affiliation" with him.
The reality star's complaint uncovered that the lawsuit stemmed from Abercrombie & Fitch's claim in August that it has offered him substantial payment in return of him not to wear their apparel. The company stated at the time, "We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image."
In the lawsuit, Mike and his company MPS Entertainment stated, "Starting in August 2011, Defendant embarked on a grand, worldwide advertising campaign using Sorrentino's name, image and likeness to create brand awareness for its products by falsely claiming that Defendant had offered money to Sorrentino if he would stop wearing Defendant's goods."
"That offer was never made to Sorrentino, nor was it ever conveyed to Sorrentino by a representative," they continued before claiming that the company "has significantly profited off of the use of its false affiliation with Sorrentino, and it has wrongly used Sorrentino's name, image and likeness for advertising purposes in violation of applicable law."
Mike and MPS Entertainment also claimed that the company "obviously intended to create a false association" with him. They additionally took issue with Abercrombie's T-shirt designs featuring the phrases "The Fitchuation" and "GTL...You Know The Deal", since they have trademarked his nickname, "The Situation", and the "GTL" catchphrase in 2009.
