AUSTIN (CN) - A Texas man who says he was teased decades ago because he shares a first name with the cross-dressing character in "Tango & Cash" does not have a defamation case, a federal magistrate said.
Gabriel Seale wanted $250,000 from Warner Bros. Entertainment for defamation, libel and slander based on the alleged damage to his reputation caused by actor Kurt Russell appearing in the film as Gabriel Cash, "dressed as a woman with lipstick, a woman's miniskirt, and woman's high heel shoes."
Seale was 16 when he saw the movie in 1990 with a group of friends who then teased him "because he shares the same first name as the character in the film," according to U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew Austin's summary of the complaint.
The pro-se plaintiff had sought to proceed in forma pauperis, but Austin instead recommended last week that the court dismiss the case.
Here Seale cannot demonstrate that "Tango & Cash" is about him, and a 2014 claim is also barred by Texas's one-year statute of limitations on defamation, libel and slander claims, according to the ruling.
"The movie 'Tango & Cash' is about fictional characters and the fact that a character in the movie shares the same name as plaintiff does not demonstrate that the movie is about plaintiff," Austin wrote.
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