A drugstore chain may need to up its social media game after running afoul of “Knocked Up” actress Katherine Heigl.
Ms. Heigl sued Duane Reade Inc., a subsidiary of the Deerfield, Ill.-based Walgreen Co., after the store posted a candid shot of the actress shopping there on its Twitter account in March. The $6 million suit claims the tweet, which links to a paparazzi photo of the actress carrying two plastic Duane Reade bags on the street in New York City and carried the caption “Even @KatieHeigl can’t resist shopping #NYC’s favorite drugstore,” represents an unauthorized commercial use of Ms. Heigl’s image.
“The actress Katherine Heigl, who has starred in the television series ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and in films including ‘27 Dresses’ and ‘The Ugly Truth,’ was recently photographed without her consent by paparazzi in New York City leaving a Duane Reade pharmacy,” the lawsuit states. “Duane Reade then misused and misappropriated the photograph for its own commercial advertising, distributing the photo with Duane Reade’s own promotional slogans on its Twitter and Facebook accounts, all without Ms. Heigl’s knowledge or approval.”