Summary: Celebrity Sofia Vergara reached a settlement with beauty company Venus Concept after they used her photo to promote their products without consent.
As the highest-paid woman in television, Sofia Vergara has a lot to protect. When a beauty company started using her photo to promote their product, making it appear that she had endorsed them, she wasn’t happy. The Modern Family star and businesswoman reached a settlement through mediation with Venus Concept for an undisclosed amount.
Vergara posted a selfie of herself back in 2014 when she was getting a massage with the Venus Legacy machine. The company took her post beyond just the level of a shout-out to full-blown endorsement. What company wouldn’t take advantage of having such a high-profile celebrity in a photo with their product?
Vergara sued the company for illegally using her image to advertise their product starting in 2014. It is safe to say that she was very unhappy about the fake endorsement, especially when it was for a product she didn’t enjoy. As Vergara explained, the massage was a “waste of time and money with little in the way of any results.”
Most of the details of the lawsuit will remain confidential. It is known that the lawsuit was dismissed “with prejudice” so Vergara cannot opt to re-sue the company. This means Vergara is satisfied with the settlement and does not feel like she will need to sue Venus Concept again.
Edit: We previously posted that the settlement was for $15 million. This information was wrong. Vergara originally sued the company for this much, as reported in our previous article Sofia Vergara Sues Beauty Company for $15 Million. We have corrected the article to represent the correct information.
Do you think social media makes it easy to quickly twist a celebrity image into an endorsement? Tell us in the comments below.
To learn more about other celebrities upset about their image being used to sell a product, read these articles:
- WEN Hair Loss Lawsuit Preliminarily Settled for $26.3 Million
- Fox News Anchor Settles Hamster Toy Lawsuit with Hasbro
- Holly Madison Sues Male Enhancement Company
Photo: etonline.com