Fame brings power. It lets you see the world, destroy hotel
television sets, and stay up well past the typical parent-enforced 9:00
PM bed-time.
Fame does not, however, let you impersonate Evel Knievel in any way, facet or
fashion. That's what Kanye West is learning right now. He's getting his
back-side sued by the age-old stunt man for serious copyright infringement.
Or something. West, you see, did a video in which he played a character named
Evel Kanyevel, who flew across great chasms on motorized
gizmos. A little too close to home as far as Knievel's concerned.
With people taking character impersonation so seriously, it's really got us worried.
We've been portraying Charles In Charge's Buddy Lembeck
at birthday parties for almost three years now. Sure, the kids have no idea, but if the
real Lembeck should find out…
Evel Knievel is suing Kanye West for a video shot in which the rapper
reputedly plays a much hornier version of the daredevil superstar. The
video is for the song Touch the Sky, and features West gettin' hot &
what-not with Pamela Anderson-Lee-Rock-Ritchie-Rock-Lee-Lee
(a scene that Kid Rock would no doubt have hated),
and shooting across the sky in a tacky 70s infused daredevil getup.
That getup, however, is strikingly similar to the one Knievel would
always wear, and the stunt itself looks strikingly like Kneivel's own
Snake River Canyon jump of 1974. Needless to say, the old man is
pissed. Here's a bunch of his quotes on the matter all bunched up:
"In my opinion, this video maybe reflects West and his way of
life, but it's sure not mine. I don't want my children or my
grandchildren associated with this kind of thing. I want it stopped. I
have done the best I can to set an example for children, and then this
guy comes along and tries to rip it apart. The guy just disgraced me.
[The video is] the most worthless piece of crap I've ever seen in my
life."
The actual lawsuit brought against West & Co. reads something like this:
"[Knievel is an] internationally famous motorcycle daredevil who has
been a household name since the late 1960s."
Well Knievel most certainly is a household name in hecklerspray's
house. Except we live in a castle -but he's a castlehold name. And as
he should be too, because anybody that can accomplish such death
defying feats by majestically harnessing the power of the very sun (as
we once heard he does), well, anyone like that is welcome 'round
here.
But he's gotta jump the moat first.
Read More:
Daredevil Knievel Sues Rapper Kanye West Over Video – tampabays10.com