Joey Ramone’s Brother Sues Johnny Ramone’s Widow For Allegedly “Exploiting” The Ramones’ Legacy
With all its members having passed away, the Ramones’ intellectual property is owned in equal parts by two heirs: Joey Ramone’s brother Mitchel Hyman — better known as Mickey Leigh — and Johnny Ramone’s wife Linda Cummings-Ramone. These two people famously don’t get along very well. The latest development in their seemingly endless legal battles is a new lawsuit in which Leigh accuses Cummings-Ramone of “exploiting” the punk icons’ legacy due to being “unabashedly obsessed with portraying herself as the widow of Johnny Ramone.”
Per Billboard, the lawsuit was filed Friday in Manhattan federal court. It describes Cummings-Ramone as a former “groupie” with an “insatiable personal desire to shine a spotlight on herself.” It goes on: “Ms. Cummings-Ramone has made and continues to make blatant attempts to exploit and personally capitalize on and benefit from the name, goodwill and legacy of the Ramones — that is, to try to push the false narrative that she is the heiress to…the Ramones’ legacy. She most certainly is not. She is nothing more than a blatant self-promoter and an infringer.”
Last January, Cummings-Ramone filed a lawsuit after Netflix announced a Ramones biopic based on Leigh’s memoir I Slept With Joey Ramone, with Pete Davidson cast in the title role. Cummings-Ramone’s suit argued that the adaptation would be nothing more than a “one-sided recitation of the history of the Ramones.”
The members of the Ramones, mind you, were not related; Leigh’s new lawsuit claims that Cummings-Ramone adopted their group stage name as a way to attach herself to the family. “Indeed, ‘Linda Ramone’ never existed while her husband, John Cummings was alive,” it goes on. “Defendant increasingly adopted the name ‘Linda Ramone’ after Mr. Cummings died.” Leigh also claims that, although earlier legal proceedings have outlined limits in which Cummings-Ramone can use the Ramone name, she’s exceeded those in her public persona.
“Ms. Cummings-Ramone presents herself to the world as ‘Linda Ramone’ and unilaterally adopts the mantle of designated Ramones spokesperson and ‘keeper of the legacy’,” Leigh’s lawyers added. “She intentionally gives the false impression that she is empowered to take the lead on, or unilaterally pursue, Ramones business.”
It’s unclear if this lawsuit has anything to do with that Ramones-themed NYC Ferry ride earlier this month.