15th
VH1 getting sued by an old lady?
Ann McCourt, an eighty-one year old resident of Los Angeles, is suing the television network known as VH1. Apparently her footage appeared in one of the network’s shows called “Celebrity Eye Candy” in 2007. She had been walking her dog when she came by some cameramen on the street who were waiting for Paris Hilton. She had approached the cameramen to see what they were filming. After they had told her who they were waiting for, they asked her what she thought about Paris Hilton which led McCourt to voice her negative opinions about the socialite, saying things like “I think she’s a disgusting human being…” Her tirade was caught on film and was aired on the “Celebrity Eye Candy” show on VH1. However, she had been unaware that she was being filmed and she claims that she was edited to look bad. I think that if I was in her position, her action to sue would make sense. While it can be argued that she should have realized that she would end up on television because she had been talking to cameramen, wouldn’t she have had to sign some type of waiver or something to give them permission to use her in the show? I don’t know much about these legal issues, but I remember that whenever there was an event, which students usually took part in, that was being filmed at my high school we would have to sign a document giving the camera crew permission to use our footage. I would assume the same would go for a television show. While I am not a fan of Paris Hilton, I do think that maybe Anne McCourt shouldn’t have said those things. Those types of comments are what I would say amongst my friends. Not to camera crews. However VH1 shouldn’t have used that footage either. I thought they were waiting for Paris Hilton? I guess they thought Anne McCourt would boost their ratings.
