Who is Maren Flagg, the ex-Las Vegas showgirl suing over Taylor Swift’s album title
She’s headlined at Caesar’s Palace, appeared on America’s Got Talent, penned a tell-all newspaper column about her life as a showgirl … and now has a podcast
In the complaint, Flagg alleges that both phrases “share the same structure, the same dominant phrase, and the same overall commercial impression”, and that Swift’s album sales were hurting her business.
Flagg’s lawyer, Jaymie Parkkinen, said in a statement shared with CBS News, “She registered it. She earned it. We have great respect for Swift’s talent and success, but trademark law exists to ensure that creators at all levels can protect what they’ve built. That’s what this case is about.”
While Swift’s team did not respond at the time, the Opalite singer’s lawyers fired back at Flagg earlier this week, calling her claims “meritless”, in a brief obtained by People.
“It is simply Ms Flagg’s latest attempt to use Taylor Swift’s name and intellectual property to prop up her brand, and it fails every single step of the preliminary injunction inquiry,” the brief read, further claiming that Flagg “spent several months centring her brand on The Life of a Showgirl’s name, artwork, music and lyrics to promote her little-known cabaret show”.
Parkkinen responded to the statement, writing that Flagg would not be backing down from the lawsuit.
So just who is Maren Flagg? Read on to find out.