Allen Gets $5 Million In Clothing Ad Settlement

May 18, 2009 4:03 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - A clothing manufacturer has agreed to pay comedian Woody Allen $5 million for its use of Allen's image in an billboard advertising campaign.

Trial on the suit against American Apparel had been scheduled to begin Monday in federal district court here.

Allen had sued after American Apparel used an image of him dressed as a Hasidic Jew from his film "Annie Hall."

When Allen filed the suit in 2008, he originally asked for $10 million in damages.

Dov Charney, founder of the clothing chain, defended his use of the images based on freedom of expression.

In a 1,500-word statement on the company website, Charney said federal court rulings "makes abundantly clear" the right to use images of public figures as forms of satire and social commentary.

Last month, an attorney for American Apparel said the defense would bring up aspects of Allen's personal life to show that Allen's reputation was not worth $10 million.

Reading a statement on the steps of the federal courthouse on Monday, Allen was quoted by the New York Times as saying, "Threats and press leaks by American Apparel designed to smear me did not work, and a scheme to call a long list of witnesses who had absolutely nothing to do with the case was also disallowed by the court. I suspect this dose of legal reality led to their 11th-hour settlement."

Allen has a policy not to do commercial endorsements.

The billboards were up a week. They were taken down after Allen complained, and American Apparel issued an apology.