Fox News Anchor Files $5 Million Lawsuit Over Toy Hamster With Same Name
Harris Faulkner, co-host of Fox News’ Outnumbered, filed a $5 million lawsuit this week over “Harris Faulkner,” plastic hamster, alleging that toymaker Hasbro “willfully and wrongfully” appropriated her persona when creating the same-named member of their “Littlest Pet Shop” line.
“Faulkner is extremely distressed that her name has been wrongly associated with a plastic toy that is a known choking hazard that risks harming small children,” read court papers obtained by Deadline on Tuesday. “Further, Hasbro’s portrayal of Faulkner as a rodent is demeaning and insulting.”
In addition to bearing her name, Faulkner claims the doe-eyed hamster physically resembles her, particularly the “tone of its complexion, the shape of its eyes, and the design of its eye makeup.” From the Associated Press:
The lawsuit says Faulkner never gave permission for Hasbro to use her name or likeness and that she even demanded in January that Hasbro stop using it. More than three weeks later, it was still for sale on Hasbro’s website, the lawsuit contends. It says that as of July, Faulkner’s name was still being used on a Hasbro website to sell Littlest Pet Shop products, and the plastic hamster that bears her name can still be bought at other online retail stores.
While Hasbro has declined to comment on the ongoing litigation, the company vigorously denies that Harris Faulkner (the hamster) poses a choking risk.
“The Littlest Pet Shop product identified, and all products in the Littlest Pet Shop line, meet and exceed all safety standards,” a Hasbro spokesperson told The Washington Post.
[Images via AP Images/Hasbro]