I've mentioned Scarlett Johansson's silly lawsuit against The List of My Desires/My Wish List-author Grégroire Delacourt (and his publisher) -- for 'using' her in one of his novels --, and now the verdict is in -- and it's ... a split decision.
English-language coverage focuses on the fact that the court decided partially in Johansson's favor, and did award her damages in the amount of €2,500 -- rather less than the €50,000 she had claimed. The AFP report -- here at The Telegraph -- has Scarlett Johansson wins £2,000 compensation over 'hurtful and demeaning' book but barely makes clear the single point decided in her favor:
English-language coverage focuses on the fact that the court decided partially in Johansson's favor, and did award her damages in the amount of €2,500 -- rather less than the €50,000 she had claimed. The AFP report -- here at The Telegraph -- has Scarlett Johansson wins £2,000 compensation over 'hurtful and demeaning' book but barely makes clear the single point decided in her favor:
"For Scarlett Johansson, the fact that she is attributed two relationships that she never mentioned herself is hurtful and demeaning," the court said.French reports go in a bit more depth (though I haven't found a copy of the judgment itself online yet) -- and in Le Figaro, for example, Bertrand Guyard maintains Procès Scarlett Johansson-Delacourt: l'actrice n'a pas gagné. As to the 'two relationships', he explains:
Le tribunal a considéré que la révélation des «passades» de l'actrice, dans le livre La première qu'on regarde, avec les acteurs Jonathan Rhys-Meyers et Kieran Culkin constituaient bien une atteinte à sa vie privée. Ils ont motivé leur décision en précisant que ces deux faits n'avait jamais été publiés dans les médias.Otherwise, it would seem, 'Scarlett Johansson' as public figure is fair game for fiction in France. I'm kind of hoping a couple of dozen French writers jump on the bandwagon and feature her (and her litigiousness ?) in their next novels .....