Actress Ana de Armas finds herself at the center of a lawsuit as two of her disappointed fans, Conor Woulfe and Peter Michael Rosza, take legal action against Universal Pictures.
The lawsuit, filed as a federal class action in the United States, claims that Universal engaged in false advertising for the 2019 film "Yesterday," featuring misleading promotional material that included scenes with de Armas, although she was ultimately cut from the final version of the movie.
Woulfe and Rosza argue that they were deceived into renting the film, each paying around $3.99, solely based on the expectation of seeing Ana de Armas, whose fame and popularity were exploited in the marketing materials. The actress, renowned for her roles in hit films like the James Bond installment "No Time To Die," was meant to play a love interest in "Yesterday," but her scenes were edited out.
Directed by Danny Boyle, the film follows Jack, an aspiring singer-songwriter who discovers he is the sole person with knowledge of the Beatles' music. Despite featuring Himesh Patel and Lily James in lead roles, the lawsuit contends that Universal failed to leverage their fame effectively and resorted to using de Armas in promotional content.
Boyle praised de Armas' performance in the original cut, describing it as "brilliant" and highlighting her radiance in interviews. The disappointed plaintiffs, hailing from San Diego County, California, seek a minimum of $5 million in damages on behalf of affected customers.
This legal action draws parallels with a 2011 case involving the movie "Drive" starring Ryan Gosling. In that instance, the plaintiff claimed the film's publicity falsely portrayed it as a high-speed action film akin to "The Fast and the Furious," leading to disappointment when it turned out to include slower interpersonal drama. The case was eventually dismissed by an appeals court in 2013.
