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NEW
YORK—Uma Thurman responded to French cosmetics giant
Lancome’s lawsuit against her with one of her own
Friday, taking their contract dispute over the use of
her name and face in an advertising campaign to federal
court.
The Kill
Bill star said in her lawsuit that Lancome Parfums et
Beaute & Cie boosted its worldwide sales and enhanced
its “prestige, stature and bargaining power” by helping
retailers and others use her name and likeness in
advertising and promotions after her contract expired.
The suit
seeks $15 million in damages.
Lancome
tried Wednesday to shield itself from legal action by
the 38-year-old actress. Saying she had threatened
litigation, the company asked a state judge to rule
against her claim that her name and face were used on
Canadian billboards and Asian web sites later than the
contract allowed.
Thurman’s lawyer, Bertram Fields, has called Lancome’s
state lawsuit “a preemptive blow.”
The
dispute stems from a two-year contract Thurman and the
company signed in April 2000, with an option to extend
the agreement for another two years.
The
contract said Thurman would be paid $5.8 million for the
first two years and $3.1 million for each additional
year, if the company exercised its option.
Lancome
claimed the contract specifies that the company was not
responsible if third parties used her name and face
after the agreement lapsed.
Lancome’s lawyer Peter D. Raymond said the company’s
lawsuit would take priority in court because it was
filed first.
“They
involve the same set of facts and issues, so you don’t
need both of them,” he said.
The
lawsuit capped a busy week for Thurman in Manhattan
courts. On Wednesday, 37-year-old Jack Jordan was
convicted in the state court’s criminal branch of
stalking and harassing her.
Other
celebrities who have endorsed products for Lancome
include model Carol Alt and actresses Isabella
Rossellini, Juliette Binoche, Mena Suvari and Drew
Barrymore.
--AP |
