If you ask Entourage's Kevin Dillion, the lawsuit brought forth by The Real World's Johnny Devenanzio is just plain bananas.
The reality star — known to MTV fans as Johnny Bananas — served a cease and desist letter to HBO on Monday demanding they stop the storyline of the Johnny Drama character playing a fictional cartoon ape on Johnny's Bananas.
Dillion, who portrays Drama, tells Us Weekly the lawsuit is "kind of a bummer" for him and Entourage creator Doug Ellin, who were considering expanding the fictional character's presence on the series.
"To be honest with you, I don't think Doug knew anything about that [guy]," Dillon told Us at a Television Critics Association panel for his new series, How to Be a Gentleman, on Wednesday. "He thought it was a funny name."
Devenanzio, however, is confident his suit has merit. He tweeted Monday that Entourage — particularly "the cartoon ape they seemed to create out of thin air, who just so happens to go by the name Johnny Bananas — is in no way coincidental."
"Instead [it's] an attempt to capitalize on the name recognition which I'm solely responsible for creating," he added. "I intend to fight vigorously in defense of the years of hard work and dedication I've spent making Johnny Bananas a household name."
Dillon — who admits he's never heard of Devenanzio prior to the suit — says it sure puts a kink in his and Elin's future Entourage plans.
"Me and Doug were really thinking about maybe making a real show out of Johnny Bananas," he told Us. "We actually have a lot of footage already in the can — the drawings, all the artwork. We were thinking about running with it for a little bit. But if it's going to be a lawsuit, that could be a problem."
Entourage airs Sunday nights on HBO.
By Allison Corneau for Us Weekly. For more Channel Surfing, click here.
