Rock Band Is Sued After Casting Minor In Pornographic Music Video
By CHARLES DUHIGG,
LOS ANGELES — The Internet has transformed how bands interact with their fans. But that can lead to troublesome consequences.
A lawsuit filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court alleges that Warner Music Group, Atlantic Records, and other music industry organizations helped coerce a 16-year-old girl into making pornographic rock videos when a band advertised for extras on MySpace, News Corp.'s teen-oriented social networking site.
The companies and musicians' representatives deny doing anything wrong. But they acknowledge that difficult situations may arise as they reach out to young fans. It is just such situations, the girl's attorney said, that demand heightened caution by the music business.
"For years, the industry has been talking about how online sales and online promotion creates unique opportunities to reach out to fans," the attorney, Douglas Silverstein, said."Well, that also creates a unique burden," he added.
The suit, filed Thursday, alleges that popular rock group Buckcherry, which is known for its sexually suggestive lyrics and members' tattooed torsos, asked fans to show up at Hollywood's Key Club in October.The plaintiff, a minor identified as Jane Doe who was living in Southern California, was allegedly given alcohol to drink and filmed exposing her breasts, kissing another female, and writhing against a pole while Buckcherry performed a song with an unprintable title.
According to the lawsuit, the music video was posted on the band's Web site and distributed online, as was a "behind the scenes" program that referred to the girl's first name, featured more nudity, and had band members saying, "It's like watching seven hours of porn."
As a result of the video's airing, the minor suffered severe emotional distress, Mr. Silverstein, who is seeking unspecified damages, said.
"You can imagine the panic this girl felt when this video started getting aired," he said. "She's been called a lesbian at school.She's had to switch schools because of that video."
An attorney for Buckcherry said it was possible that an underage girl appeared in the video, but precautions were taken to keep minors out.
"We had a guy at the door checking IDs, and to get in, this girl had to show a fake identification showing she was over 18," Skip Miller of the law firm Miller Barondess said. "This woman filled out a release form with false information. And once it was determined this woman was underage, the video was removed."
