Charlize Theron Sued For $20m Over A Lovely Watch

Charlize Theron is now famous for three things: 1) winning an Oscar for being in a film where she had to get fat, 2) trying to repeat that trick by just wiping some dirt on her face and 3) advertising every single product you can care to think of.

And now number three has got Charlize Theron in trouble. Although Charlize Theron is quick to grab cash for advertising Dior and John Galliano, her exclusive deal with fancy Swiss watch-makers Raymond Weil has ended with a lawsuit. Weil claims that - even though Charlize Theron was paid stacks of money to only wear Raymond Weil watches - she's been often seen wearing watches made by Dior, and now Raymond Weil wants $20 million from her. Ever quick to apologise, Charlize Theron has ordered a reshoot of Monster where the tortured serial killer Aileen Wuornos murders several screaming men while gently stroking an inordinately expensive timepiece at pouting at the camera.

Charlize Theron has never been one to shy away from speaking her mind. When James Bond producers wanted Charlize Theron to be a Casino Royale Bond girl, Charlize told them to get stuffed. And when people were wondering why Charlize Theron wouldn't get married to boyfriend Stuart Townsend, she made a lot of fuss about gay people not being able to get married. And woe betide anyone who asks Charlize Theron the question "What kind of a stupid name is Charlize, anyway?"

But sometimes people fight Charlize Theron back, like Swiss watch company Raymond Weil. Weil is incandescent that Charlize Theron was seen out and about in a non-Weil watch even though Theron was apparently contractually obliged to only wear Raymond Weil watches all the time ever, and it's suing her for $20 million. The New York Daily News reports:

The suit by Raymond Weil accuses the Oscar-winning star of "Monster" of two-timing the company by wearing a Christian Dior watch in public - a strict no-no in her $20 million deal. "If you're the model for Ralph Lauren, you can't show up wearing Gucci at the Academy Awards," said David Jaroslawicz, an attorney for the watchmaker. "She undercut our entire ad campaign." As an "international ambassador" for the company, Theron touted the limited edition line of diamond-covered Shine watches, which sell for $7,000 and have straps made of gold or alligator skin. But Theron ticked off her sponsors when she turned up in a Tourneau catalogue wearing a diamond-encrusted watch over the words, "Charlize Theron wears Dior." "We spent a fortune on an ad campaign centered around her," Jaroslawicz said. "Then she goes off and makes us look silly in the industry by wearing Dior."

Jaroslawicz is right, of course - on seeing Charlize Theron wearing a Dior watch in a posh catalogue, who wouldn't have slapped their heads in surprise and loudly exclaimed "But i thought Charlize Theron was contractually obliged to only wear timepieces by Swiss watch-maker Raymond Weil! I shan't be buying another Raymond Weil watch in my lifetime, mark my words!"

Hey Raymond Weil, here's an idea. Ditch Charlize Theron. If you want the modern face of metropolitan elegance to be seen advertising your watches, look no further than hecklerspray. We're young, we're hip, we have at least one working knee and we promise to only wear your watches in front of the 12 cats and 28 Myleene Klass Hear'say action figures that we spend the majority of our time hanging out with. No? Well we've mentioned Raymond Weil loads of times in this article, how about a freebie instead?

No?

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