‘Sesame Street’ Creators Lose Lawsuit Over ‘Happytime Murders’ Tagline
May 31, 2018
Melissa McCarthy and her cast of raunchy puppets are free to use their "Sesame Street"-inspired tagline — 'cause a judge says they're clearly not the same thing.
A judge in NYC handed down a ruling Wedenesday in favor of STX Productions — which is producing McCarthy's "The Happytime Murders" — saying the film's catchphrase, "No Sesame. All Street.," makes a blatant distinction to fans that this is NOT "Sesame Street."
As we reported … Sesame Workshop sued STX for allegedly infringing on their company name, and trashing their kid-friendly reputation with a not-so-kid-friendly flick.
Lawyers for "Sesame Street" reportedly tried saying that an older court case about a 1970s porn movie named "Debbie Does Dallas" being found to infringe on the Dallas Cowboys' good name supported their argument now … but the judge shot that down, saying that flick's X-rated … this one's R … and there's a difference.
STX issued a statement through their pupper lawyer, Fred, Esq., saying … "We fluffing love Sesame Street and we're obviously very pleased that the ruling reinforced what STX's intention was from the very beginning — to honor the heritage of The Jim Henson Company's previous award-winning creations while drawing a clear distinction between any Muppets or Sesame Street characters and the new world Brian Henson and team created."
Long story short … ejaculating puppets walked away with a win on the street.