SINGER Toni Basil has launched legal action against a number of companies over their use of her 1981 hit Mickey.
In a lawsuit lodged in Los Angeles, she demands $750 (£580) for every time every time her voice, name or image has used without consent over three decades.
The document, obtained by Hollywood industry website Deadline, shows she’s targeting the likes of Disney, Viacom, Forever 21 and the TV show South Park.
First released in 1981, the song became a worldwide hit.
Written by British songwriter Nicky Chinn and long-term collaborator Mike Chapman, it peaked at number two in the UK charts and became a famous earworm still remembered 36 years later.
The Walt Disney Company is being sued over the use of the song to promote a line of Forever 21 clothing.
“Basil’s exclusive right to publicity has been damaged by the coupling with Mickey Mouse and the Disney brand,” the lawsuit states.
Basil, 73, claims to have suffered “sleep deprivation, nightmares and anxiety” over the use of Mickey and is demanding a jury trial.
Her lawyers also write that she was unaware Mickey appeared in a 2008 South Park episode, referencing then candidate for US president Barack Obama, until January this year.
In the episode, a character chants over her song: “Obama you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind, hey Obama, hey Obama.”
The dispute will centre on the distribution of the song by Razor & Tie Direct, which Basil claims doesn’t have her permission to license the song.
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