Love it or hate it, there’s no denying that Sharknado has made a name for itself after six films over a span of five years and an impressive cast of familiar faces appearing throughout the series.
Tara Reid stars as April Wexler in the franchise and is one of only two recurring main cast members from the films that has appeared in all six installments since it’s first debuted in 2013 up to it’s most recent sixth sequel that was released in August of this year. According to the Blast , however, the film’s producers are in hot water with the actress, as she has slapped Asylum Entertainment and SYFY Media Productions, who published the movies, with a $100 million lawsuit after making a killing off using her image without permission.
The American Pie actress believes the defendants wrongfully licensed the rights to use her likeness–which they do not have ownership of–to “manufacturers of slot machines, gambling products and beer makers,” who in turn have made a huge profit totaling in the millions.
Variety reported that the suit alleges that Asylum signed a deal with Northern Monk Brewing Co., a beer manufacturer in the U.K., to produce a Sharknado beer that features her face on the label, which she did not authorize. Documents also indicate that Tara has accused the producers of licensing her image to be featured on slot machines which, again, was done so without her permission.
This, Reid claims, is a breach of her contract, which was “very specific” about prohibiting her face to be used for promotional material if it “related to tobacco, gambling, hygiene or sexual products.”
In response, Tara is seeking $100 million in punitive damages for breaking the contract, which her lawsuit notes is “an amount sufficiently large to set a public example of deterrence.” She is also asking that the machines and products that feature an image that is a likeness to her face no longer be able to do so.
Sharknado beer! pic.twitter.com/mR26fjtNpm
— ?????????? (@suppongeisha) September 7, 2018
Tara Reid stars alongside Beverly Hills, 90210’s Ian Ziering for the wild film series that details the horrifying situation of a freak hurricane full of sharks that terrorizes the world. Other notable cast members throughout the series include Make It or Break It’s Cassie Scerbo and Home Alone’s John Heard, and there have been a number of cameos by stars such as Jerry Springer, Ann Coulter, and David Hasselhoff.
According to Variety , Reid earned $125,000 for starring in Sharknado 5 and $175,000 for her appearance in the most recent installment of the series, The Last Sharknado: It’s About Time.
