Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon may be Real Housewives, but they are definitely not the real Slim Shady. Eminem is making sure of that by blocking their trademark application for their podcast ‘Reasonably Shady’ to avoid “unavoidable” confusion with his brand.
The reality stars’ attorney has announced that they intend to defend their trademark application despite Eminem blocking it. Eminem, whose real name is Marshall Mathers, believes the trademark will damage his own brand because it resembles Eminem’s longstanding nicknames ‘Shady’ and ‘Slim Shady.’
Mathers’ team argue that “the marked proposed for registration by applicants, Reasonably Shady, is likely to cause confusion, mistake or to deceive. Causing the consuming public to believe the Applicant’s goods and services are in association with the mark Reasonably Shady are sponsored, licensed and/or otherwise approved by Mathers.”
The Real Housewives of Potomac stars have filed to trademark the name of their podcast ‘Reasonably Shady’ to create an entertainment empire, seeking to sell clothes, mugs, water bottles and other merchandise bearing the name of the podcast. Their podcast has already proven to be a moderate success after promoting it on the successful Bravo show.
Mathers’ team has pointed out that Eminem has already released merchandise with the marks Shady, Slim Shady and Shady Limited on merchandise such as T-shirts and baseball caps.
More on this case as it progresses.