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Scarlett Johansson has won $2500 in legal damages against an author in Paris.
The Hollywood star claimed that a fictional blonde character in Grégoire Delacourt’s novel, The First Thing We Look At, was her double and represented her in defamatory manner.
Delacourt argued the character in his book was meant as a tribute. But Johansson’s lawyer told the court the book presented her as a ‘sex object’. Delacourt described his work as a satire on celebrity culture.
“It was meant as the highest praise,” the author said. “She is an archetypal beauty of our times, very human with a touching fragility,” he added.
Lawyers argued it made ‘defamatory claims’ about Johansson’s private life. “For Scarlett Johansson, the fact that she is attributed to relationships that she never mentioned herself is hurtful and demeaning,” the court said.
Johansson had sought 39,600 pounds in damages for the ‘fraudulent use of her personal rights’ but the eventual figure was substantially lower.
The actress had also sought an injunction to stop the novel being translated or adapted for cinema, which was thrown out by the court. Johansson’s lawyer said he was extremely pleased with the verdict, but Delacourt’s legal team declared the compensation ‘derisory’.
Agencies/Canadajournal
