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Scarlett Johansson Wins Lawsuit Against Author Using Her as ‘Sex Object’ in Book

Scarlett Johansson, 29, won a defamation lawsuit against an author who wrote a book featuring a character based on the Avengers actress. In the lawsuit, the Captain America star accused French writer ...
Scarlett Johansson Wins Lawsuit Against Author Using Her as ‘Sex Object’ in Book
Written by Pam Wright
  • Scarlett Johansson, 29, won a defamation lawsuit against an author who wrote a book featuring a character based on the Avengers actress.

    In the lawsuit, the Captain America star accused French writer Gregoire Delacourt of making “fraudulent use of her name, fame and image” in his book La premiere Chose Qu’on Regarde (The First Thing We Look At).

    The character in the book is described as Johansson’s “exact double” who is treated as a “sex object” because of her looks.

    Delacourt claims he only used her image as a way of giving Johansson a compliment.

    “It was meant as the highest praise. She is an archetypal beauty of our times, very human with a touching fragility. She is a wonderful, iconic actress. I was hoping that she might send me flowers because this book is, in a way, a declaration of love. If I had known she was going to kick up such a racket, I would have picked another actress,” said Delacourt.

    The actress, who is currently expecting a baby with French fiancé Romain Dauraic, sued for $69,302, accusing the novelist of using her likeness to promote the story.

    Delacourt has sold more than 100,000 copies of his novel and was surprised when the actress brought the lawsuit against him.

    “I wrote a work of fiction. My character is not Scarlett Johansson,” he told the French newspaper Le Figaro. “I’m not sure she’s even read the book. It’s not been translated.”

    A court in Paris, France, ruled in Johansson’s favor, but she was awarded only $3,397. The Lucy actress also sought an injunction to stop the novel from being translated into other languages or adapted for a movie, but the court threw the request out.

    Delacourt’s publisher said that now that the suit is settled, the publishing house is open to offers for an English translation.

    Image via YouTube

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