If there's one thing any Ex-Dictator has to worry about, it's his image. Well, that and the convictions, but mostly the image thing.
Manuel Noriega, former dictator of Panama, understands this perfectly, and now he intends to use the same justice system that put him behind bars to get some justice of his own.
The Los Angeles TimesFormer Panama dictator Manuel Noriega is suing the Santa Monica video game publisher Activision Blizzard Inc. for depicting him and using his name without his permission in one of the fastest-selling video games.
In a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Noriega alleges that “Call of Duty: Black Ops II” portrays him as “a kidnapper, murderer and enemy of the state.” This was done “to heighten realism in its game,” which “translates directly into heightened sales” for Activision, the lawsuit states.
Noriega, 80, is seeking lost profits as well as damages. His attorneys did not respond to requests for comment.
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Yes, because if there's one thing Noriega has to fret over, it's a video game making him, the former dictator guilty of corruption, drug trafficking, money laundering, human rights abuses, and murder, seem like a bad guy. Of all the preposterous elements of the Call of Duty franchise, this surely takes the cake.
Of course, it seems pretty unlikely that this case would have any standing in any sort of court, especially considering that the depiction of historical figures, living and dead, in fiction is not exactly a new thing. If Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon, John F. Kennedy, and Robert McNamara can be depicted as a zombie-slaughtering quartet without issue, I think Noriega is facing an uphill battle here.
Don't breath easy yet, though. You better watch out, Van Halen, because you're next on the list!