The company that owns the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders brand has asked a court to stop rock band My Chemical Romance from putting its backup dancers in costumes modeled on the squad's uniforms.
Pro Silver Star filed a request for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction Friday in a Dallas County district court, NBC News reported. FOX 4 reported that the lawsuit also names concert promoter Live Nation.
The dispute centers on the band's Oct. 21 concert at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. According to the court filing, dancers dressed in outfits that looked nearly identical to the cheerleaders' white and blue uniforms performed during the song "Teenagers," then picked up what appeared to be rifles and took part in a staged firefight in which they were "depicted being shot."
Pro Silver Star argues that the stunt damaged the cheerleaders' brand and reputation and that people in the crowd and online mistook the dancers for the real team. "Audience members and online commentators understandably believed that the performers were the real Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and said so in social media posts that continue to circulate," the company wrote.
The filing describes the company as "not litigious" and says it has no quarrel with the band's music or message. "Silver Star asks only that those performers not wear the DCC Uniform while doing it," it states. "The universe of alternative costume designs is effectively unlimited."
FOX 4, citing The Dallas Morning News, reported that the company sent the band a cease-and-desist letter before filing suit and that the band kept using the costumes.
