American Apparel boss denies plan to attack Woody Allen's character

The legal tussle is over American Apparel's unauthorised use of a still from the film 'Annie Hall' in a poster campaign.

Allen sued the retailer accusing it of "blatant misappropriation and commercial use of Allen's image" and of damaging his reputation. The court battle begins this month.

Last month American Apparel's lawyers suggested Allen's relationship with the adopted daughter of his former partner Mia Farrow damaged his reputation and subsequently how much the image was worth.

American Apparel's lawyers also suggested they were also considering putting Farrow on the stand to testify against Allen.

Now American Apparel founder Dov Charney has denied the company was planning to attack Allen's character as a form of defence.

Instead Charney insisted Allen was a "source of inspiration" and said the ad was actually a parody of various legal claims made against himself and the retailer.

Charney, who has admitted dropping his trousers in the office to display the latest American Apparel underwear product, has been subject to a number of sexual harassment suits.

All have been either settled out of court or dismissed.

In a statement Charney said: "The billboards and images from the Annie Hall movie were intended to be a parody/social statement and comedic satire to provoke discussion and public discourse about the baseless claims that had been made against American Apparel and myself, society's reaction to lawsuits that delve into an individual's private sexual life and the media's sensationalism of such matters."