Donkey Kong record holder’s lawsuit against Cartoon Network dismissed

Former Donkey Kong champion Billy Mitchell’s attempt to sue a cartoon show he claims stole his likeness has been thrown out of court.

Mitchell, who was the first person to pass one million points in the Nintendo classic – the subject of the 2007 documentary ‘The King of Kong’ – alleged that the character Garrett Bobby Ferguson (GBF), a cheating arcade player who appears in Cartoon Network series Regular Show, illegally used his appearance.

This is despite the animated persona consisting of a floating, bearded head – a difference that New Jersey Federal District Judge Anne Thompson highlighted as she ruled that the depiction was protected by the US First Amendment.

"The television character does not match the plaintiff in appearance: GBF appears as a non-human creature, a giant floating head with no body from outer space, while Plaintiff is a human being," she explained (via Associated Press).

"And when GBF loses his title, the character literally explodes, unlike Plaintiff."