'GTA: Vice City' News: Rockstar Games Responds to Lawsuit for Alleged Miss Cleo Reference
Rockstar Games has recently responded to a lawsuit filed against them for allegedly using a character with reference to Miss Cleo in the game "Grand Theft Auto: Vice City."
Miss Cleo is one of the many monikers used by the late fortune teller Youree Dell Harris. Her career soared from 1997 to 2003 where she was part of a TV show that entertained callers asking for a reading. Harris passed away in 2016 after battling colon cancer.
In a report by TMZ, the lawsuit was filed by the Psychic Readers Network — an organization which used to be represented by Harris. The report added that PRN "holds the rights to Miss Cleo" which prompted them to file a complaint versus Rockstar Games for allegedly using a character with a lot of resemblance to the late psychic reader.
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In a cutscene available on YouTube, the "GTA: Vice City" clip shows Tommy going to the house of another character named Auntie Poulet. According to the report, PRN said Rockstar Games should be penalized for the unwarranted use of the character that they claim is very similar to Miss Cleo.
It was also mentioned that the video games company hired an actress — who used to professionally impersonate Miss Cleo — as Auntie Poulet's voice actor in the final release of "GTA: Vice City."
Meanwhile, a Rockstar Games representative responded to TMZ's request for comment and denied the allegations, implying that they would not opt for a settlement. The company said: "These claims are entirely meritless and completely ridiculous. We will vigorously defend ourselves with regard to this matter."
TMZ added that PRN's complaint maintained that apart from owning the rights to the character of Miss Cleo, they have spent as much as $100 million to popularize the Miss Cleo identity while Rockstar Games allegedly profited over $500 million in a game that "exploited" the said character.
Some fans may have noticed that the lawsuit came a decade and a half after "GTA: Vice City" was released. But PRN reportedly argued that the complaint remains relevant since Rockstar Games is still profiting from the game since its release in 2002.
