In January last year, a federal class-action lawsuit was filed in regard to Richard Curtis’ 2019 Beatles-inspired feel-good rom-com feature “Yesterday”.
A pair of plaintiffs – Paul Michael Rosza and Conor Woulfe – said they each paid $3.99 to rent the movie on Amazon Prime because “Knives Out” actress Ana de Armas appeared in the trailer, only to discover she was removed from the final cut of the film.
The suit accused Universal of engaging in deceptive marketing and seeks to recoup at least $5 million on behalf of affected consumers.
Yesterday, U.S. District Stephen Wilson tossed out the entire case. Wilson rejected the plaintiff’s notion of ‘misrepresentation’ in de Armas’ absence, agreeing with Universal that the case is a ‘self-inflicted injury’.
In addition, Wilson ordered the dismissal is without leave to amend – effectively ending the case for good: “This is the third time that Plaintiff has amended their complaint, and it shall be the last.”
de Armas was to appear as Roxane, a potential love interest who is introduced to the lead character Malik (Himesh Patel) on the set of a talk show. It was a small role, and scenes with her character were removed during post-production before the film’s release due to test audience pushback.
Source: Deadline
