Rockstar is no stranger to lawsuits; you don't produce one of the best-selling series of all time without accruing a few court battles. But we're willing to bet that the New York-based developer didn't see its latest suit coming.
The Psychic Readers Network is suing Rockstar over the portrayal of Auntie Poulet, a character in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. It claims that Poulet is derivative of television psychic Miss Cleo, a personality that the network says it has spent over $100m promoting.
Vice City was released for the PlayStation 2 back in 2002, but the Psychic Readers Network is only just beginning proceedings – a full 15 years after release.
Here's a glimpse of Cleo, and Poulet, in action.
As reported by The Wrap, the suit draws together the visual and thematic similarities between the pair.
"These striking similarities are more than substantial," reads the suit. "In particular, Defendants copied Miss Cleo's vibrantly colored caftans and turbans, as well as the patois and mysticism of Miss Cleo, in designing and animating her doppelganger Auntie Poulet.
"Both Miss Cleo and Auntie Poulet are said to be trained in Voodoo, have a strong link to the occult, are of Afro-Caribbean origin, and reside in South Florida."
Furthermore, the actress behind Miss Cleo, Youree Dell Harris, was also the voice of Auntie Poulet. Harris herself passed away last year after a battle with cancer
But it's not Harris bringing the suit, it's the Psychic Readers Network, which is alleging copyright infringement and asking for unspecified damages from Rockstar.
Rockstar's parent company, Take Two, has dismissed the suit as "entirely meritless and completely ridiculous", also saying: "We will vigorously defend ourselves with regard to this matter."
The folks over at Take Two and Rockstar have endured high-profile legal cases before, such as the suit brought by Lindsay Lohan over a character in GTA 5.
