Back in 2011, Pitbull scored one of the biggest hits of the year with his song “Give Me Everything” featuring Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer. It was off his album Planet Pit and marked his first foray onto the Billboard Hot 100 charts. However, although the song was popular with the public, it did not go over well with one person in particular, Lindsay Lohan, because of his line “I got it locked up like Lindsay Lohan,” clearly referencing her past and ongoing legal issues and inability to stay out of jail.
The actress sued Pitbull, real name Armando Cristian Perez, because she felt the lyrics were “...an unwarranted, unauthorized, and unfavorable mention of her name and personality” and contained “...allusions to her physical and mental character”. However, U.S. District Judge Denis Hurley, has finally closed the case, deciding that Pitbull's lyrics were protected under the law.
He ruled that since the song is an expressive form of art, Pitbull is fully protected under New York Civil Rights Law and the First Amendment. The judge also mentioned that even though the song was created for commercial reasons and to garner a profit, that “does not mean that plaintiff's name was used for 'advertising' or 'purposes of trade'...” He also stated that the “isolated use of her name” in one line of the song, made her case fruitless and “fatal” from the beginning.
On a side note, Pitbull’s lawyers tried to counter-sue Lohan for filing a “frivolous lawsuit”, aka, wasting everybody’s time. Judge Hurley did not rule in favor of Pitbull in those regards, however Lohan's lawyer, Stephanie Ovadia, was hit with plagiarism charges for her part in the case. She did not dispute the claims that her court briefings were directly taken from newspapers, law firms and educational websites. Instead the law firm blamed it on one of their counsels.
Neither Pitbull nor Lindsay Lohan have commented on the case and it’s ruling as of yet.
Pitbull Wins Case Over Lindsay Lohan Lyrics
