Karen Gravano claims the game uses her likeness and life story.
The Grand Theft Auto series is famous for showcasing a lot of messed up people doing messed up things. Most of the characters are so overblown (not to mention psychopathic) that it’s a relief to know that they’re all fictional. Well, mostly. Karen Gravano, former star of the Mob Wives reality TV show and daughter of the notorious mobster Salvatore “Sammy the Bull” Gravano, claims that the game uses both her likeness and life story, and she wants $40 million dollars as an apology.
The lawsuit claims that the GTA V character Antonia Bottino is a direct ripoff of her own life story. The player first encounters her in the game as she’s tied up and about to be buried alive. After being rescued, she tells a story about how her father, Sammy Bottino, was framed for murder. After that, her family runs from safe house to safe house, until he gets caught and turns snitch as part of a plea bargain. Due to his status, Antonia’s father refused to allow her to star in the reality TV show “Wise Bitches”.
Sound familiar? The quest is indeed remarkably similar to that of Gravano’s father, Sammy Garavano, who eventually helped the feds bring down the mobster John Gotti (after murdering plenty of people himself). But if that’s not enough, Gravano is releasing a second memoir, complete with “not-so known aspects of the story” that Rockstar allegedly used.
Gravano is suing Rockstar for $20 million in compensation, and another $20 million for punitive damages. Of course, the trick here is that Grand Theft Auto V is arguably satire, meaning it can do what it wants. If she was really the badass mafia chick she claims, you’d think they’d settle this in a dark room using a sock full of quarters and a cigar cutter.
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Source: NY Daily News
