According to Yahoo News on Feb. 5, Olympic gold medalist skater Oksana Baiul is suing NBC Universal for using her name and likeness to promote a show that she had nothing to do with.
In the lawsuit, Baiul said that Disson Skating LLC offered her a deal to perform in two shows they planned to air on NBC. The skater declined the offer and never received or signed any contracts for the show. However, NBC used her name and likeness to promote the shows anyway.
The lawsuit claims that NBC Universal advertised the show on radio websites using Baiul's name and also named her in a press release advertising the show. As a result of her name being used to promote the show, the skate claims her reputation was damaged when she did not appear on the shows, making it look like she "no-showed."
The first show was Dec. 15, 2011 with the rock band Styx and the second was Jan. 19, 2012 with Kenny G.
She said that the perception of her as a "no-show" makes it harder for her to get work and she has sued for $5 million in damages.
Stephen Disson said Baiul's representatives reached out to him to allow her appear on the show. They reached out to her and she said she was grateful to get the chance to perform on the show. However, over time he said she became "flaky" and started to miss meetings. Then she chose not to appear on the show at all.
Neither Disson nor NBC Universal commented on the actual lawsuit.
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