South Park Lawsuit: They Stole My Lollipop! (VIDEO)
The creators of "South Park" have been charged with stealing a character from another show during three episodes which aired in 2007.
"South Park" creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker are being sued following allegations that their lollipop character was ripped off from another show. According to Exavier Wardlaw, who is pursuing the lawsuit, the "Lollipop King" bares a strong resemblance to his own character called "The Big Bad Lollipop."
The Lollipop King appears in three "South Park" episodes during the "Imaginationland" series, which initially aired in 2007. Wardlaw states that the creators developed the character based of his own show, "The Lollipop Forest."
The show was intended for a family friendly audience, but the three part series of "Imaginationland" is far from being family orientated.
All three episodes are violent and loaded with sexual content. In one segment, the Lollipop King witnesses the carnage after a suicide bomber. In another, he is choked to death.
"The 'South Park' television show and its producers, directors and writers disregarded the public copyright notice and appropriated 'The Lollipop Forest' for financial gain, without permission or attribution of authorship or compensation for use," the complaint reads, according to Reuters. "The 'South Park' television broadcast diminished/tarnished the value of 'The Lollipop Forest' as a wholesome family show by association within the context of unwholesome language and sexual innuendo."
The suit was filed in a Philadelphia court on the grounds of copyright infringement.
"Wardlaw is seeking that all alleged references to 'The Lollipop Forest' and characters derived from it be removed from the opening titles of the shows featuring King Lollipop," according to the Reuters report.
The creators of "South Park" have yet to release a statement regarding the charge. The three part series won an Emmy award for Outstanding Animated Program in 2008.
