At 101 Olivia de Havilland is suing over Feud

How remarkable is this….

Yesterday Olivia de Havilland turned 101, but that hasn’t stopped her from filing a lawsuit against FX and Ryan Murphy over her depiction by Catherine Zeta-Jones in the Feud miniseries (pictured).

De Havilland is the only principal character in the Joan Crawford-Bette Davis saga still alive, but she was not consulted over her portrayal in which she was seen spilling to a journalist on the stars’ rivalry.

“[A]ll statements made by Zeta-Jones as Olivia de Havilland in this fake interview are completely false, some inherently so; others false because they were never said,” writes attorney Suzelle Smith. “FX defendants did not engage in protected First Amendment speech in putting false words into the mouth of Olivia de Havilland in a fake interview that did not occur and would not have occurred.”

De Havilland claims she has built a reputation for integrity and dignity by refraining from gossip and other unkind, ill-mannered behaviour. She also takes issue with Feud‘s references to her relationship with her sister.

“Zeta-Jones’ de Havilland refers to Joan Fontaine as her ‘bitch sister,’ an offensive term that stands in stark contrast with Olivia de Havilland’s reputation for good manners, class and kindness,” writes Smith.

The actress says the defendants knew or recklessly disregarded publicly available information that she is alive, she never gave an interview about the relationship between Davis and Crawford, and that she maintains a reputation for avoiding gossip mongering.

She is suing for infringement of common law right of publicity, invasion of privacy and unjust enrichment and is asking the court for not only damages but also any profits gained from the use of her likeness and an injunction to keep FX from continuing to use her name and likeness (the latter creates big problems for replays and DVD sales).

Murphy has previously confirmed, “I didn’t write (to) Olivia because I didn’t want to be disrespectful and ask her, ‘Did this happen? Did that happen? What was your take on that?'”

Source: Hollywood Reporter