Pop star Tina Turner has im Legal dispute with the organizer of a tribute show about a double lost. The first civil senate of the Federal Court of Justice ruled in Karlsruhe on Thursday that artistic freedom outweighs personal rights.
The case is about whether Dorothea “Coco” Fletcher, leading actress in “Simply The Best – The Tina Turner Story”, is too similar to the singer and therefore advertising posters for the show could give the impression that the real Tina Turner is performing or support the show. Both is not the case. The 82-year-old Turner had already sued the organizer Cofo Entertainment from Passau in two instances for an injunction.
Turner was right before the Cologne district court in early 2020. However, the Cologne Higher Regional Court reversed the verdict in the same year. In its decision, it gave artistic freedom more weight than the right to one’s own image and name. Turner then took the verdict to the highest court. The judges’ decision in Karlsruhe is an all-clear signal for organizers of tribute shows for other stars.