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:

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