Pro Wrestler Booker T Sued Activision
It looks like Epic Games isn’t the only game developer facing lawsuits from celebrities, now Activision is dealing with legal trouble over one of their characters in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Pro wrestler Booker T sued Activision over the Black Ops 4 character known as “the Prophet,” which he claims rips off his comic book persona “G.I. Bro.”
Booker T — real name is Booker T. Huffman — got famous after performing in several major pro wrestling promotions such as the departed WCW (World Championship Wrestling), and he’s a Hhall of Ffamer in the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment). Huffman is also known for his signature catchphrase, “Can you dig it, sucka?”
But now people are learning Huffman is renowned in the comic book world too — due to his G.I. Bro alter-ego.
Huffman created the G.I. Bro comic book character, and according to the lawsuit, he has copyrighted the character. Here is G.I. Bro’s back story: “a retired special operations soldier, fighting an old enemy he thought he had finished off years before, with the support of his old military friends.”
Now, this is where things get interesting. Booker T claims the Prophet is an exact copy of G.I. Bro, but the in-game biography for David “Prophet” Wilkes is a lot different:
“Wilkes got his first set of cybernetic augmentations while serving in the British Engineering Corps. Five years and many upgrades later, he is the embodiment of the cutting edge of human weaponry on the battlefield, using his superior technology to disrupt opponents’ tactics before moving in for the kill.”
The biographies are different, but both characters definitely have similar appearances. And it looks like Booker T sued Activision mainly for that reason. This is an official statement from Micah Dortch, Huffman’s attorney, on the lawsuit:
“When seen side-by-side there can be no question that this character was copied from G.I. Bro. From the hair, body type and clothing, right down to facial expressions, the similarities are too profound to be an accident.”
Activision’s net worth is estimated to be around $32 billion dollars, and they’re easily one of the largest gaming organizations in the world. So, the company definitely has the money to hire some good lawyers of their own, but they are currently dealing with some other problems.
According to Forbes, Activision just laid off 8% of its workforce after the company failed to meet its revenue goals for 2018.
This legal action from the “five-time, five-time, five-time WCW world champion” is yet another thorn in Activision’s side.
You can read the official Booker T vs. Activision lawsuit here.
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