Actress Sued For Wearing The Wrong Watch

by Michele Cheplic | More from this Blogger

There was a time in my life when I felt naked without my watch. I was a TV reporter and deadlines ruled my life. Then I had a baby, and my watch and I took an extended vacation from each other. These days I spend more days looking for my watch than wearing it, which is why this next story about an Oscar-winning actress and her multiple timepieces caught my eye.

According to news reports, Swiss watchmaker Raymond Weil is suing actress Charlize Theron for wearing a Christian Dior timepiece when she was supposed to wear only Weil watches. The matter is currently on its way to court. Papers filed Monday state that the 31-year-old actress was paid "substantial funds to model in the company's ad campaign and wear its watches exclusively from October 2005 to December 2006."

However, at the time, Theron was also the face of a Dior perfume, and "was actually photographed wearing a watch from the Christian Dior line" at a Texas press event. (Attorney's for Weil have included a photo of Theron wearing the offending watch as evidence.)

But that's not all. Weil attorneys also maintain that Theron also "appeared wearing a necklace in an advertisement benefiting an AIDS charity." According to court papers: "Plaintiffs were led to believe and had a right to believe by their written agreement that (Theron) would not promote jewelry or watches."

I completely understand that the company would be upset if Theron broke her agreement with them, especially if she received a large sum of money in advance. However, I also believe the incident raises some questions. For example, did the actress simply "forget" that she was restricted to wearing only Weil watches when she was getting dressed for her Texas appearance? Or did she assume no one would notice? As for the necklace... just because Theron wears a necklace does it mean that she is "promoting" it? The necklace was worn in an ad benefiting an AIDS charity. I can't imagine one would assume that she was padding Neil Lane or Harry Winston's pockets by wearing one of their pieces in a charity ad. What's more, how would anyone know who designed the necklace to begin with?

Don't get me wrong; I was in complete agreement with Tarrant Apparel Group's decision to sue Jessica Simpson for not wearing the namesake brands - including Jessica Simpson, JS by Jessica and Princy - it had developed with her. Why shouldn't they? After all, to add insult to injury, according to court papers, when a reporter asked the singer/actress to name her favorite brand of jeans, "instead of responding 'Princy,' Simpson said 'True Religion.' " UGH!

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Learn more about Michele Cheplic

Michele Cheplic was born and raised in Hilo, Hawaii, but now lives in Wisconsin. Michele graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a degree in Journalism.

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