A scene in which Jeff Goldblum makes a joke about oral sex won’t stop further distribution of the mockumentary “Pittsburgh.” A federal judge this week denied the temporary restraining order request of a theater stagehand who alleged the scene portrayed her in a false light, finding Debbie Sue Croyle does not have a reasonable probability of prevailing at trial.
In the scene, Croyle applies alcohol to Goldblum’s neck so she can attach a microphone with tape. After he complains the alcohol is burning him, she blows on his neck. “Blow some more,” he jokes bawdily. As we previously reported, Croyle sued the producers of “Pittsburgh” Nov. 1 for false light invasion of privacy.
“I felt there was a hell of a lot of respect lost in my profession,” she testified at the hearing on her TRO motion, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “I was humiliated. I felt disgusted.”
The producers’ attorney, Bernard Schneider of Brucker Schneider & Porter in Pittsburgh, argued in a court brief that “no rational fact finder” could interpret the scene “as an indication that [Croyle] is a woman who would engage in fellatio.”
Croyle also alleged the producers did not comply with her condition for appearing in the film — that they make a donation to a charity for people with developmental disabilities in honor of her brother. Schneider argued the case is moot because his clients donated $100 this week. But U.S. District Judge David S. Cercone denied his request for dismissal.
“No donation was made until this lawsuit was filed,” plaintiff’s co-counsel Shelley Segal pointed out to the court.
