The owners of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have taken legal action against My Chemical Romance after the emo band brought a troupe of ‘gun’-toting lookalike dancers onstage at a recent gig.
The stunt occurred midway through the first show of the band’s five-night residency at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The dancers, clad in the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders’ (DCC) signature blue-and-white outfits, appeared during Teenagers.
The troupe, carrying cardboard rifles, rescued singer Gerard Way from a group of masked men holding the frontman at gunpoint (with firearms also made of cardboard). The display was part of the show’s concept, centred around the fictional totalitarian Draag regime.
Not everyone was impressed. Silver Star Ltd., the company that owns of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders brand, filed a temporary restraining order and injunction against the band over trademark rights.
The company stated: “Audience members and online commentators understandably believed that the performers were the real Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and said so in social media posts that continue to circulate.”
“Silver Star is not litigious, and it takes no issue with MCR’s music, its artistic ambitions, or any message Defendants seek to convey.
“Silver Star does not ask Defendants to change their setlist, narrative, politics, choreography, or even their decision to put gun-toting performers on stage.
“Silver Star asks only that those performers not wear the DCC Uniform while doing it. The universe of alternative costume designs is effectively unlimited.”
My Chemical Romance have yet to comment on the legal action. According to reports, the cheerleaders have continued to appear at subsequent shows, wearing the DCC uniform.
