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Michael Jackson "Thriller" Video Vixen Ola Ray Sues for Royalties

by Blaine Metzgar | May 7, 2009 at 08:39 am

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Ola Ray, the video vixen from the most successful music video of all time, Thriller, is suing Michael Jackson for failure to pay her royalties for her memorable performance in the John Landis directed video.

"She just wants to get her fair share of payments from this extremely successful project that she's very proud of," her lawyer Jason Feldman told the Daily News. "She did receive some payments early on, but we don't believe they were complete, and they were never timely."

Jackson's attorney reportedly paid Ray and undisclosed amount via the Screen Actors Guild in 1998, but payments have since fallen short.

"We're expecting it to be a significant sum that she's owed," he said. "The video continues to sell a lot worldwide and was just released again for it 25th anniversary."
He said licensing of the video's content and images to various DVDs and video games might also add up to a "substantial sum."

Ray, a former Playboy centerfold, was busted for cocaine in 1992 but now is a stay-at-home-mom. She claimed that she left the acting/modelling world after she refused to give "sexual favours" to produces.

Ray's lawsuit stands as the second royalty related case against Jackson and his groundbreaking 14-minute long music video; earlier this year director John Landis sued the king of pop for royalties from the video as well.

True to the video, apparently MJ is "not like other guys." Guys that pay out at least.

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