Scarlett Johansson has filed a lawsuit against the publisher of a French novel that she claims used her name without her authorization. The author of the book was shocked to hear the news, since his tale of a woman who looks like Johansson is fictional.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, in the lawsuit against publisher JC Lattes, the 28-year-old Avengers star is looking for compensation from the “breach and fraudulent use of personal rights” and seeks to ban any further adaptation of the book.
The novel in question was written by Gregoire Delacourt and its French title translates to The First Thing We Look At. It features a woman who looks just like Johansson. She meets a mechanic and allows him to believe that she’s the actress. After 60 pages, she finally reveals her true identity, Jeanine Foucaprez.
In an interview with Le Figaro, Delacourt said that he couldn’t believe Johansson’s reaction. “I was stunned,” he said. “I didn’t expect this at all.”
Delacourt said that throughout the book, he compares his characters to the biggest names in Hollywood. His hero is like Ryan Gosling, while a boss character is like Gene Hackman. He stressed that this is a work is fiction.
“It’s a bit silly to say that if you talk about a person, the courts have to get involved. That’s quite sad,” he said in another interview with RTL, reports TheLocal.fr.
The book was published on March 20 and has been a success in France.
image: NBC