|
In a complaint filed late Tuesday in Manhattan
federal Court, Winfrey's Harpo Inc said it is neither seeking
profits or damages from "Oprahdemics" creators Kellie Carter
Jackson and Leah Wright Rigueur, nor trying to stop the podcast.
Instead, it wants a name change, saying the podcast and related
live events dilute Harpo's "Oprah" and "O" trademarks, and
wrongly capitalize on the goodwill that Winfrey has spent
decades building.
Harpo, which is Oprah spelled backward, said simply being
associated with the "Oprah" brand often causes an "exponential"
jump in sales, known as "The Oprah Effect" or "The O Factor."
The "Oprahdemics" website describes Jackson and Rigueur as
historians and friends who break down iconic episodes of
Winfrey's talk show and discuss the cultural impact of the
"Queen of Talk."
In a statement, co-producer Jody Avirgan, whose company Roulette
Productions is also a defendant, called "Oprahdemics" a
"journalistic exploration by history professors and sincere,
longtime fans of Oprah Winfrey."
He said Roulette "has been engaged with the team at Harpo for
some time--while genuinely surprised by this, we hope to resolve
it."
In an April interview with NPR, Rigueur called Winfrey an
institution.
"This is a woman, a Black woman, who has dominated multiple
spaces and arenas" since the 1980s, she said. "I say that in a
way that doesn't absolve her of ... constructive criticism or
feedback or anything like that, but instead as recognition of
... the institution of Oprah Winfrey and the Oprah Winfrey
brand."
Winfrey, 68, is also an actress and philanthropist who parlayed
her namesake Chicago television talk show, which ran nationally
from 1986 to 2011, into a media and business empire. She is
worth $2.5 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
The case is Harpo Inc v Jackson et al, U.S. District Court,
Southern District of New York, No. 22-06787.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)
[© 2022 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
