A
disgruntled actress, who has requested that her name be anonymous and has been
dubbed ‘Jane Doe,’ is lashing out at the large movie database, IMDb, for
revealing her age on its site. Due to the secrecy of the actress and the
seemingly ridiculous lawsuit, the media has been jumping on the exploding
scandal. Jane Doe is said to be of Asian descent, and while most articles are
still not revealing her age, she is described as being nearing her 40s.
The
actress claims that the site is in violation of a breach of contract, fraud and
violation of privacy. She is suing IMDb for $75,000 in compensatory damages and
at least $1 million in punitive damages as well as asking that a restraining
order be placed against the website.
Jane
also claimed to have given the website a chance to remove the information
before taking action. She supposedly contacted IMDb and asked that they removed
her date of birth as to keep from hindering her from getting roles. It was when
the website did nothing in response that she decided to go after them legally.
According
to the actress, attaching her age will inevitably hurt her career.
“If
one is perceived to be 'over-the-hill,' i.e. approaching 40, it is nearly
impossible for an up-and-coming actress, such as the Plaintiff, to get work as
she is thought to have less of an 'upside' therefore casting directors,
producers, directors, agents/managers, etc. do not give her the same
opportunities, regardless of her appearance and talent,” the complaint said.
It’s
interesting to me that the actress is requesting to remain anonymous. If she is
already losing roles because of the information, then why does it matter if her
name is leaked to the public? But I think part of what is making this breaking
news (the story broke Thursday) such a big one is the fact that this “actress”
is unknown. It leaves the public to play the guessing game, and it gives all
journalists that edge to make their big news pop.
At
this point, there is very little known about the actress other than her
descent, that she has an Americanized name and lives in Texas. It’s a great way
to get your story read because the audience will have a fun time just guessing.
I know I am.
What
makes this story even more appealing to the media is that Amazon, who owns
IMDb, is refusing to comment on the scandal. To me, the lawsuit seems
ridiculous. I don’t really see how she can win unless she can prove that she is
losing jobs specifically because of IMDb posting her age. And how do you really
even prove that? Though the scandal provides an interesting and breaking story
for the media, it seems highly doubtful, to me at least, that any success will
come from her lawsuit. I’m sure there is always a possibility, but I cannot
believe that she’ll actually win if she can’t prove her claims.
Sources:
