Giuliani Speaks Out Against Noriega’s COD Lawsuit
Rudy Giuliani speaks out on what could happen if former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega wins his lawsuit against Activision for his appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
Following one of the case's opening court hearings, Activision lawyer Rudy Giuliani called the lawsuit against Activision filed by former Panama dictator Manuel Noriega an "outrageous offense" to the First Amendment, which could threaten the future of video games and movies using historical figures, IGN reports. Earlier this summer, Noriega sued Activision for his appearance, likeness and name used in the events of Call of Duty: Black Ops II's story campaign. Giuliani has openly stated he wants the case dismissed, because Noriega's inclusion as a world renowned bad guy was protected by free speech.
"I think a man that engaged in selling $200 million of cocaine in the United States, who knows how many children he killed, a man who was a dictator of his country in which he tortured people for nine years, a man who laundered money in France, a man who chopped the head off of one of his allies and then was convicted in three countries, who is sitting in jail in Panama, trying to recover because he is a minor, minor figure in a very excellent game, Call of Duty by Activision, is an outrage," Giuliani said.
Giuliani is arguing that movie makers and game developers, are protected by the First Amendment to portray historical figures. With Lohan suing Rockstar Games over her preposterous idea that she was used as the basis of promotional marketing for Grand Theft Auto V, we really hope both of these lawsuits fail. 'Forrest Gump' would never have been able to include its historical figures and 'X-Men: Days of Future Past' wouldn't have had that godawful version of Richard Nixon.
Noriega explained that he heard about his inclusion in Black Ops II from his grandchildren who were playing the game. Giuliani said moments like that should come natural for his descendants to question all of the horrible things the former dictator did.
"Wait till they see the picture of General Noriega chopping Hugo Spadafora's head off," Giuliani said. Spadafora was a doctor in Panama who was tortured to death in 1985 because he was voicing his opinion against Noriega's regime. "I wonder how upset they're going to be by that. The reality is, General Noriega created his history. This is the least of the problems he's going to have to deal with with his grandchildren."
Time to boot up Black Ops II for some laughs.