American actress Q'orianka Kilcher has sued James Cameron and Disney, claiming her likeness was used without permission to create the character Neytiri in the Avatar franchise. The New York Times reported on the lawsuit.
Court documents state that Cameron used a teenage photo of Kilcher as the basis for the design of the character Neytiri. The complaint emphasizes that the features of the lower part of the character's face—the lips, chin, jawline, and mouth shape—belong to Kilcher.
Q'orianka Kilcher says that when she met Cameron by chance at a charity event in 2010, he told her she was the “initial inspiration” for Neytiri’s appearance. However, the actress did not interpret those words at the time as meaning her facial features had been copied.
According to the lawsuit, the situation became clear after Cameron's 2024 interview with a French publication. Kilcher claims the director mentioned her name while referring to the image of Neytiri, saying: “It is, in fact, the lower part of her face.” The actress says she decided to take legal action after that.
Kilcher is seeking damages that include “all profits” derived from the unauthorized use of her likeness. In her claim, she relies on the “Right of Publicity” law, which allows individuals in California to object to the use of their likeness without consent.
So far, Disney, Cameron, and his representatives have not commented on the actress's lawsuit.
Read “Zamin” on Telegram!
