Seems like "GTL" might stand for "Go To Lawsuit" these days.
"Jersey Shore" personality Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch, claiming that the apparel company unfairly profited from his name and image through a publicity stunt and the use of his trademarks on its clothing.
Also read: Abercrombie & Fitch Will Pay "The Situation" to Shop Elsewehere
Read the full suit here.
The suit takes issue with A&F's widely reported claim in August that it had offered Sorrentino money to stop wearing its clothing, because he was "causing significant damage" to the company's image by sporting its duds.
According to the suit, no such offer was ever made, and the clothing company was merely attempting to capitalize on "the huge success and popularity of Sorrentino" with a marketing ploy.
Also read: "Jersey Shore" Bro War: Ronnie Pummels the Situation (Video)
To add injury to insult, the suit says, even as Abercrombie claimed that its clothes are too good for Sorrentino's orange-hued body, it produced T-shirts with familiar-sounding slogans such as "The Fitchuation" and "GTL…You Know the Deal" in an attempt "to create a false association between plaintiffs and the defendant."
(According to the suit, "The Situation" and "G.T.L" are trademarks of MPS Entertainment LLC, which handles Sorrentino's business affairs.)
Alleging that Abercrombie has "significantly profited off of the use of a false association with Sorrentino," the suit goes on to state that the company has caused "damage and irreparable harm" to the reality TV star with its supposed ploy.
The suit also goes on to say that Abercrombie's sound-alike clothing slogans are "likely to create confusion" among potential consumers — though, truth be told, where "Jersey Shore" fans are concerned, a certain amount of confusion is probably a given.
The Situation is asking for $1 million in royalties, plus $3 million in punitive damages.
Abercrombie & Fitch has not yet responded to TheWrap's request for comment.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.