Actually ENN needs to fact check itself a bit here I think. I might have missed it but I think it didn't get the key point behind the suit. From other articles I've read her actual point of contention happens to be that the character in this game was in a dispute with her father over being in a reality show called "Wise Bitches" which was a direct reference to her show on VH1. I don't think it has much to do with the whole "almost buried alive" thing here.
I'll be brutally honest here, she's right about it being a reference to her. I'll also be brutally honest in saying she doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning and whatever Lawyer is leading her on should be ashamed. I seriously hope the guy isn't getting a paycheck from her while she's being lead on.
The thing is that "GTA V", like most of the other games in the series, parodies and satirizes real life and pop culture. Parody and satire happen to be protected, there is a history of cartoonists and guys like "Weird" Al Yankovic having people go after them for using their material, or mocking people, and a long string of precedents protecting people doing exactly what "Grand Theft Auto" has been doing. Albeit many of the big parodists nowadays like "Weird Al" get permission from the people they are using, even if they do not legally have to do so.
Overall the whole thing in "GTA V" with the right hand (or key lieutenant) of a crime figure being a traitor is a stereotypical plot point in crime drama, and it works because people have been turned IRL, "Sammy The Bull" is a noteworthy example, but hardly unique, and things like the "Witness Protection Program" exist largely because of this. But as I pointed out the whole thing with "Wise Bitches" and such is meant to be funny because while exaggerated you as the gamer are likely to know exactly what they are talking about IRL and chuckle.
Of course to be fair, we also have the whole "Tony Twist" thing with Todd Mcfarlane, where he lost for making a mobster in "Spawn" look like the hockey player, while also using the name. Of course at the same time Todd was being pretty serious and doing this in a comic which while having it's absurd moments was going for a very dark, and gritty vibe, you can't say that what he did was in any way a parody or satire, and under the right circumstances could be considered outright insulting without any attempt at humor or larger overall point to it. I do not think this will work here though because "Grand Theft Auto" is certainly engaged in parody.
I understand the desire to jump to the defense of favorite video game companies when under an attack, but you also have to understand that in most cases there is a grain of salt involved. As a general rule if someone makes a fortune making a parody of you, your not entitled to a cut of it. I expect we're probably going to see more and more of this kind of thing in the years to come because for the most part parodies of this sort have been about people who have already made fortunes or otherwise wield substantial political power. With the popularity of Reality TV though, your going to see pop culture icons, who didn't make a whole lot of actual money off of their fame, where a parody of them can actually make more than they did doing whatever is being parodied. I imagine this is going to breed even more resentment and more suits and such as time goes on, and we might actually see some new precedents established (though I doubt it will be here) when the parodists are not the underdog like they had been previously (ie in this case it's not a matter of some powerful politician or celebrity trying to shut down a smaller one, or some poor cartoonist just barely paying his bills). In general the successful reality TV stars like the Kardashians or Snooki (love them or hate them) typically made their money by having a talent for self promotion, and being able to negotiate their fame into other things like sponsorship deals, clothing lines, celebrity cameos, and similar things, most are not that talented (and there IS a talent to self promotion). I'm not a reality TV fan so I haven't followed "Mob Wives" so I'm guessing she's just done that one thing, got a few pay checks off of it, and nothing else, even if she (or the just the show) she was on became well known enough to inspire attention and eventual attention from parodists skewering pop culture like Rock Star does.
