Woody Allen, American Apparel settle billboard case

By Eriq Gardner

We don't see a picture of American Apparel CEO Dov Charney next to the Webster's definition of "solopsism," but we suppose it's only a matter of time before the dictionary-makers take time to consider the man's statements today after his company agreed to pay Woody Allen $5 million to settle the director's lawsuit.

The settlement, reached just as both parties were set to meet in court today, ends one of the strangest celebrity legal battles in many years. In his lawsuit, Allen claimed the company had violated his rights of publicity and implied a false endorsement by using his image on a billboard. In defense, American Apparel first maintained that Woody's image was worthless thanks to all the scandal associated with his breakup with Mia Farrow. Upon further thought, the comapny backtracked by calling Woody a hero and saying the First Amendment allowed fair use of Woody's image to make a comment on the media.

In announcing the settlement, Charney was far from contrite. Instead, the clothing executive shrugged off the development as arm-twisting on the part of his insurance company.

"The vast majority of this payment will be paid by our insurance carrier who is responsible for the decision to settle this case and has controlled the defense of this case since its inception," said Charney in a statement.

Charney continued that he would have liked to further pursue this "important issue regarding the First Amendment," before spelling out his view that the billboard was OK because "as a matter of law, no commercial transaction is proposed: no merchandise is shown or described, and no price is quoted."

Charney even gets a little meta with a statement contained within a statement: "Below is a statement that I had been working on explaining my position on this case before it was settled..." he writes.

We're going to miss this case.