TMZ reports that Joe Francis, the human herpes sore responsible for creating the infamous ‘Girls Gone Wild’ empire, has sent Madonna a cease and desist letter, threatening to sue if she performs the song “Girls Gone Wild” from her upcoming album during her Super Bowl performance.
In the letter, also addressed to NBC and the NFL, Francis’ lawyer attacks all parties for attempting to cash in on a “free ride on the valuable consumer goodwill and brand recognition” of Francis’ trademark. Let’s pause here to reflect on the ridiculousness of this phrasing. “Valuable consumer goodwill and brand recognition” makes it sound like Francis is a tireless philanthropist whose franchise has been evoked to garner public favor, rather than a sleazebag who built an empire on exploiting the diminished value judgements of drunk college girls.
At any rate, Francis is willing to cut Madonna a deal provided she cut an immediate licensing agreement for “Girls Gone Wild,” account for the number of times she has already used the trademark, and not perform the song at the Super Bowl. Thankfully, Francis did not request a drunken Madonna to remove her top as part of the deal. (I was really worried for a second there.)
Francis’ lawyer reportedly demanded a response by 5 PM Pacific time today, so we’ll see how this goes.
Image: New York Daily News
Erik Oster
Erik Oster is an Assistant Editor at The Faster Times and a writer, editor and musician from Fairfield County, Connecticut. After graduating Goucher College in 2008 with a degree in creative writing, he was co-founder and Editor-in Chief of a literary magazine called ...
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