A Tina Turner lookalike who is being sued for looking too similar to the real singer said she never thought her tribute act would ’cause such a fuss’.
Dorothea ‘Coco’ Fletcher, who is in her 30s, is facing legal action from the 81-year-old singer because of her unofficial tribute show based in Germany, called Simply The Best.
Turner’s lawyers have argued that the tribute looks so much like the star in promotional posters that fans may mistakenly think the real Tina is involved in the show.
This Morning viewers were baffled by the case after Dorothea’s performance on the ITV show today – pointing out that the lookalike is several years younger than the singer and branding suggestion they may get confused ‘nonsense’.
Dorothea ‘Coco’ Fletcher (right) , who is in her 30s, is facing legal action from 81-year-old singer Tina Turner (left in 1996) because of her unofficial tribute show based in Germany, called Simply The Best
‘It doesn’t effect us yet,’ said Dorothea, who is originally from Houston. ‘Personally I have no ill feelings against the other company or Tina Turner for sure.
‘I think this whole thing is them trying to stuff out the competition, we all want to pay tribute to Tina Tuner she is just such a big person in the lives of women and men as well, we pay tribute to her and our musical does that through her music.’
She added: ‘I never thought our tribute to her would cause such a fuss, but on the other hand, we must be doing something right!’.
Viewers were left scratching their head after the segment, with one writing: ‘Sued for being too much like Tina Turner?! She looks and sounds sod all like her!’
This Morning viewers were baffled by the case after Dorothea’s performance on the ITV show today – pointing out that the lookalike is several years younger than the singer and branding suggestion they may get confused ‘nonsense’
Another wrote: ‘Just a comment on the Tina Turner thing. The woman is soooo much younger, surely the argument goes out the window!’
‘Tina Turner should be proud of Dorothy. Wow amazing. What is wrong with what Dorothy is doing. Stop this nonsense’, commented a third.
The case has now reached Germany’s Federal Court of Justice which is set to make a ruling that could radically reshape the multi-billion dollar tribute act industry.
‘It would be a big problem’, said Dorothea.’The industry is huge. I think that would be really bad news if that were too happen, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.’
Dorothea started performing in Las Vegas as a Whitney Houston tribute act, but soon decided she wanted to pay tribute to her ‘hero’ Tina.
‘It’s a feeling when I watch her videos or see her television’, she said. ‘I’m moved to do things I normally wouldn’t do, she takes me out of my conform zone.
Turner is suing over this poster of Fletcher, which she says is so similar in appearance that it risks confusing fans
‘It’s just so much fun performing as Tina Turner, I love what she presents on stage, the rawness, the energy, she just gives you everything.’
The tribute act, who has never seen Tina live in concert or met her, says the ‘trouble started’ when the Tina Turner musical Simple The Best came from Germany from the UK.
The lawsuit is against Cofo Entertainment, a German firm that represents Fletcher and other tribute acts that imitate Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and Frank Sinatra.
Turner first filed suit against the company – based in Bavaria – last year when posters for Simply The Best were released.
Her legal team scored an initial victory after a court in Cologne ruled the posters could indeed be misleading to punters, The Times reports.
But the posters were re-designed and Turner lost a follow-up case at the Cologne Court of Appeals, which ruled that the risk of confusion among the public did not outweigh Fletcher’s right of artistic expression.
Turner (left, performing in 1990) says fans may mistakenly think she is involved in the show that Fletcher (right) performs in
The court held its first hearing on the matter last week where Kerstin Schmitt, a lawyer representing Turner, sought to persuade the judges that the posters do not constitute ‘art’ and are merely advertising.
‘[Turner] would like to decide when her name and image are used for commercial purposes,’ Schmitt told the court.
But Brunhilde Ackermann, lawyer for the entertainment company, hit back – saying the average fan would expect a tribute act to look like the real Tina Turner.
Only a ‘chronically stupid person who looks at everything superficially’ would get the two confused, she said.
She also warned that a binding ruling on behalf of the court could potentially wreck a multi-billion dollar industry that has long-standing recognition as legitimate.