Right of publicity not a right to control one's own image by censoring disagreeable portrayals, says appeals court in de Havilland case
Olivia de Havilland Does one have the power to control how his/her own image is portrayed? To what extent do third parties’ free speech rights prevail over the rights of the person portrayed? These, in a nutshell, have been the core issues at the centre of the important lawsuit initially brought by 101 year-old actor Olivia de Havilland (who famously starred alongside Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind ) against FX, the producers of TV miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan . Although the latter focused on the rivalry between film stars Bette David and Joan Crawford, there is also Catherine Zeta-Jones playing Olivia de Havilland, a close friend of Bette Davis. Background Olivia de Havilland sued FX in 2017, claiming violation of her statutory right of publicity – California Civil Code section 3344 – and the common law tort of misappropriation (on grounds that de Havilland had not granted FX any permission to use her name, ident...