oey Ramone’s brother Mitchel Hyman, better known by his stage name, Mickey Leigh, has responded to a lawsuit filed earlier this year by Linda Ramone, widow of guitarist Johnny Ramone.
The suit was over a variety of issues, including a planned Ramones movie based on Mickey’s memoir, I Slept With Joey Ramone. Although Linda’s suit didn’t mention Netflix, the streaming service has been developing a film based on the book, starring Pete Davidson as Joey.
In her suit, Linda accused Mickey of “unilaterally and covertly” developing the film without her sign-off. But in his response Mickey says that’s not the case. Lawyers for Mickey say Linda’s claims are “baseless,” since she agreed to the movie as far back as March 2006.
The docs also argue the film “is not a ‘Ramones biopic’ but rather one based on a family memoir” and that Mickey never intended for his film to stop the making of any future Ramones biopic.
Finally, Mickey’s lawyers argue that Linda’s suit is part of plan to “install herself as the Queen of the Ramones,” adding her “main purpose is to embarrass, harass, and destroy the integrity of Mr. Hyman, create an utterly false narrative about him, rewrite her role in the history of the Ramones, and win a popularity contest in which, in her mind, she takes over … the legacy of a band of which she never was a member and had nothing to do with creatively.”
ABC Audio has reached out to Linda Ramone’s attorney for comment.
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