A 26-year-old drummer is suing MTV and Viacom for unlawfully using his image in the 2010 documentary, “Nick Minaj: My Time Now.”
Michael Savely, a private drum tutor as well as street performer, filed court papers in New Jersey claiming that his tutoring business and T-shirt sales have suffered as a result of his inclusion in the MTV documentary. He goes on to say that when producers approached him to sign a waiver so that MTV may use his image, he flat out denied them saying:
“…the footage would misrepresent his connection with other artists whose style conflict with the one that he has developed.”
Michael is a self-proclaimed “conservative,” and states that by using his image in association with Nick Minaj, it has damaged his reputation amongst his students and their parents. The suit claims:
“[Savely] understands that the reason many of the parents of the students he teaches employ his services is because they can trust him to provide their children with something more modern yet not corrupt.”
Because Nicki “dresses provocatively, uses profanity and glorifies a specific lifestyle,” it is contrary to the way he lives and does business. Nicki is not directly named in the suit (nor should she be), and MTV & Viacom have yet to comment on the suit.
In the documentary, Michael, who has an almost foot-high mohawk, is only seen for a quick second in the opening. Reportedly, when Billboard reached out to Michael for an official comment, he asked for money for his interview. Hmph.
You can check Mike (who goes by the stage name Mike Alaska) in action at a Knicks Game below:
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