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Law & Order

Well yesterday had several TV-related legal stories pop up. First, word came out that CBS has been sued over “The Amazing Race 5,” which filmed back in 2004. The network has been sued by a Tanzanian woman who worked at the Kilimanjaro International Airport and was caught on camera during the show’s taping. The woman has filed suit in the High Court of Tanzania, seeking $2 million for invasion of privacy:

Particulars of the submission include: Taking her photographs without her consent and against her will and amidst her protest; publishing the said photographs without her consent and against her will; and broadcasting the documentary “The Amazing Race” without her consent or knowledge.

CBS, unsurprisingly, says this is bunk. A statement from the network’s attorneys said that the raw footage shows the woman “staring directly into the lens of at least one of the production crew’s very large and visible cameras without any objection and also smiling and acknowledging the camera. She among other things, asked whether she could get a copy of the tape for herself … all of which amount to a very clear implicit consent for the program to tape and use her image.” It’s nice to see that attempts to cash in aren’t limited to the States.

(Speaking of attention whores and undeservedly cashing in , we’ve got an update to yesterday’s story about Paris getting sent to the clink for 45 days. Her attorneys have filed a notice of appeal, hoping to correct this awful awful abuse of the judicial system. We here at QuizLaw wait with bated breath and hope that Paris is freed before it’s too late.)

Meanwhile, Ty Pennington, the terribly annoying host of ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” got arrested over the weekend for driving under the influence of drugs and booze. Er, uhm, suspicion of such, rather. The statement Pennington released on Monday pretty much establishes that the suspicion was correct, however, as he acknowledged making “an error in judgment” and that this “was my wake-up call.” Sadly, he did not announce any intention of vanishing from the airwaves (seriously, I find that guy annoying as a rash).

Lastly, HBO’s CEO and chairman Chris Albrecht was also arrested over the weekend, but not for a DUI (that’s his bald headed mugshot up top). Instead, he allegedly beat up his girlfriend outside of Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Hotel following Saturday night’s De La Hoya/Mayweather Jr. boxing match. (I guess he was just inspired by the fight.) While we don’t have a copy of the police report yet, I understand that Albrecht was deemed the loser of the fight by a split decision. Don King is already working on setting up a rematch to take place outside of LA’s Geisha House on November 17 at approximately 2:35 a.m. We’ll keep you posted.

Posted by Seth on May 8, 2007 | Comments (1)