My Chemical Romance have agreed to stop dressing performers in costumes resembling the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ signature blue-and-white uniforms during their remaining Hollywood Bowl shows, resolving at least one part of the legal dispute that erupted over the band’s latest bit of stagecraft. According to TMZ, the agreement between MCR and Pro Silver Star Ltd., which owns the DCC brand, was reached before going to court.
As previously reported, the issue began during the first night of MCR’s five-show Hollywood Bowl residency on October 21st. During “Teenagers,” dancers dressed like the Cowboys cheerleaders first performed a routine before taking up prop rifles and joining the band’s larger onstage battle against the militarized forces of its fictional dictatorship. Several of the performers were eventually depicted being shot and crawling from the stage.
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The dispute has also revived a bizarre bit of legal history: the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders successfully sued over a lookalike uniform in Debbie Does Dallas in 1979, though trademark attorneys told Consequence that the precedent may not mean much under modern First Amendment law.
Pro Silver Star took issue not with the shootout, but with who the dancers appeared to represent. According to the filing, their costumes copied recognizable elements of the DCC uniform: white boots and shorts, blue tied blouses, and white vests with blue stars. The company also pointed to Gerard Way saying, “Thank you, Dallas,” to the crowd as an undeniable reference.
The company says it sent MCR a cease-and-desist after the first Hollywood Bowl show on October 21st, but the dancers returned in costume at the band’s October 23rd performance. The lawsuit alleges false association, false endorsement, trade dress infringement, and trademark dilution, while also seeking damages and a permanent bar on further use of the uniform or confusingly similar designs.
