Booker T, a WWE Hall of Fame wrestler and commentator, has filed a copyright infringement suit against Activision-Blizzard, saying the video game publisher stole his likeness and included it in last year’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
The grappler, whose full name is Booker T Huffman, claims the game’s character “Prophet” is a carbon copy of the “G.I. Bro” character he created in his early pro-wrestling days and which was later used in comic books in 2015.
“When seen side-by-side there can be no question that this character was copied from G.I. Bro. From the hair, body type and clothing, right down to facial expressions, the similarities are too profound to be an accident,” said Micah Dortch, Huffman’s attorney.
The Prophet character isn’t new to the Call of Duty universe. He appeared in 2015’s Black Ops III. But his look in last year’s installment of the series was different.
Huffman’s not the only celebrity targeting game companies these days. Actor Alfonso Ribeiro is suing Epic Games over a dance in Fortnite that’s very similar to one he invented for his character Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
For Activision, the suit is, at the very least, a PR headache it doesn’t need at the worst possible time. Late Tuesday, the company announced plans to lay off over 700 employees, despite record revenue. That elicited an angry feedback on social media.
