Fallon
12-31-2002, 01:45 PM
<b>Jack Ass Sues Viacom Over 'Jackass' TV Show</b>
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jack Ass says "Jackass" has given him a bad name. A Montana man who legally changed his name to "Jack Ass" in 1997 has sued media giant Viacom Inc., claiming its stunt-heavy, gross-out TV show and movie "Jackass" had defamed his character.
In a suit filed in November in Montana and posted this week on a legal Web site, Jack Ass, who said he changed his name to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving, claimed Viacom was "liable for injury to my reputation that I have built and defamation of my character which I have worked so hard to create."
The suit asks for damages of $10 million or more. Jack Ass is representing himself.
Jack Ass, a journeyman power lineman by trade, said he changed his name from Bob Craft in late 1997 as part of a personal crusade against drunk driving after his brother and a friend were killed in a car crash. Theirs was the only vehicle involved.
A spokeswoman for Viacom referred calls on the suit to MTV Networks, its subsidiary which aired the "Jackass" show. A spokeswoman for MTV Networks said its policy was not to comment on pending litigation. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=772&e=1&cid=597&u=/nm/20021231/tv_nm/odd_jackass_dc
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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Jack Ass says "Jackass" has given him a bad name. A Montana man who legally changed his name to "Jack Ass" in 1997 has sued media giant Viacom Inc., claiming its stunt-heavy, gross-out TV show and movie "Jackass" had defamed his character.
In a suit filed in November in Montana and posted this week on a legal Web site, Jack Ass, who said he changed his name to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving, claimed Viacom was "liable for injury to my reputation that I have built and defamation of my character which I have worked so hard to create."
The suit asks for damages of $10 million or more. Jack Ass is representing himself.
Jack Ass, a journeyman power lineman by trade, said he changed his name from Bob Craft in late 1997 as part of a personal crusade against drunk driving after his brother and a friend were killed in a car crash. Theirs was the only vehicle involved.
A spokeswoman for Viacom referred calls on the suit to MTV Networks, its subsidiary which aired the "Jackass" show. A spokeswoman for MTV Networks said its policy was not to comment on pending litigation. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=772&e=1&cid=597&u=/nm/20021231/tv_nm/odd_jackass_dc
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