The following is an excerpt from an article from ABC News:
The widow of a World Wrestling Entertainment performer who died in a televised 1999 stunt filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday against the Connecticut-based company and its leaders, including Republican U.S. Senate candidate Linda McMahon.
Martha Hart said she learned three months ago that McMahon, who stepped down as WWE chief executive in the fall to run for Senate, and her husband, Vince, the current chairman, have for years used the image of her late husband, Owen Hart, in at least 37 videos and other materials without her knowledge and permission, and despite her objections to his likeness being associated with the pro-wrestling company.
“They’d have to be living under a rock if they didn’t get that I don’t want any association with them whatsoever or Owen to be associated with them whatsoever,” said Martha Hart, who lives in Calgary, Alberta, with the couple’s two children, now 18 and 14.
“I believe it is morally, ethically and legally wrong for the WWE to seek profit from Owen’s death,” she told reporters at a news conference held at a hotel in downtown Hartford. The WWE is based in Stamford.
Jerry McDevitt, an attorney for the WWE, called the lawsuit “a political stunt” coming as McMahon campaigns. Martha Hart’s suit and accompanying news conference were the first time the company has heard from her since she legally settled with them in 2000, he said.
“I don’t think you’d see what happened today if Linda wasn’t running for Senate,” McDevitt said. Martha Hart denied her case had anything to do with the campaign but said voters in Connecticut should question Linda McMahon’s moral character.
Check out the full article at ABCNews.com.
