The Hollywood Bowl residency for My Chemical Romance just picked up a plot twist nobody saw coming. During the October 21 show, dancers performing to“Teenagers”wore blue-and-white uniforms that closely resembled Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders gear, then joined a staged battle scene with prop rifles. Pro Silver Star Ltd., which owns the DCC brand, sent a cease-and-desist. The dancers wore the uniforms again on October 23 regardless.
Pro Silver Star sued, alleging false association, trade dress infringement, and trademark dilution. Interestingly, the company’s complaint focused on the uniforms rather than the prop rifles or the staged violence. The two sides reached an agreement to stop using the DCC-style costumes for the remaining residency dates, October 30 with The Used and Halloween night with Thrice, avoiding a courtroom showdown altogether.
The whole saga has become a pop culture crossover event: early-2000s rock nostalgia meeting one of the most tightly protected sports entertainment brands out there. It even echoes a 1979 precedent involving a cheerleader uniform lawsuit, which is the kind of deep-cut reference that only makes this story more fun. So the legal question is settled, but the fashion question is wide open. What do you think the dancers should wear on Halloween night?
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.