From left: Tommy, Dee Dee, Johnny and Joey Ramone circa 1976.Photo:Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Joey Ramone’s brother Mickey Leigh has filed a countersuit againstJohnny Ramone’s widow over a future Netflix movie based on his 2006 memoirI Slept with Joey Ramone: A Punk Rock Family Memoir, arguing that the case is “baseless and flimsy.”
Cummings Ramone also claimed that she would need to sign-off on any “authoritative story of the Ramones."
“Ms. Ramone objects to defendants’ attempt to create a Ramones film without her involvement — not to be obstinate, but rather based on defendants’ disregard for [Ramones] assets and their conduct and treatment of Ms. Ramone and her late husband,” Cummings-Ramone’s attorneys wrote in the lawsuit. “To permit defendants alone to tell the authoritative story of the Ramones would be an injustice to the band and its legacy.”
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Leigh said, “Johnny Ramone’s widow is trying to kill the film with a false claim. The movie that’s being made is solely based on my bookI Slept with Joey Ramone: A Punk Rock Family Memoir. This is not a Ramones story and was never intended to be as my business partner has falsely claimed. I filed a countersuit to defend my right to tellmy storyaboutmy lifewithmy brother.”
“Ms. Cummings-Ramone did consent to Defendants’ development and production of a motion picture,” they wrote.
Leigh’s attorneys added: “Ms. Cummings-Ramone’s main purpose is to embarrass, harass, and destroy the integrity of Mr. Hyman, create an utterly false narrative about him, rewrite her role in the history of the Ramones, and win a popularity contest in which, in her mind, she takes over … the legacy of a band of which she never was a member and had nothing to do with creatively."
Attorneys for each did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
A copy of the alleged 2006 agreement appears to show that Ramones Productions signed off on the production rights of the then-unpublished memoir to a company called Rosegarten Films.
In astatement toBillboard,Leigh said, “The fact is, I did not writeI Slept with Joey Ramone: A Punk Rock Family Memoirabout my brother’s band and had no intention whatsoever of doing that. I wrote a story about growing up with a big brother who endured a severe somatic malady at birth, and later developed neurogenic problems. That led to doctors making diagnoses that he would never be able to function on his own in society — and that big brother, with support from his family, proved those doctors wrong as he went on to do great things with his life and become an inspiration to millions.”
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From left: Joey, Dee Dee, Johnny and Marky Ramone in Chicago in May 1980.Paul Natkin/Getty
Paul Natkin/Getty
In Leigh’s counterclaims, he argues that Cummings-Ramone violated their partnership agreement with a “pattern of egregious conduct.”
The two are executors of Joey and Johnny’s respective estates, and each own half of Ramones Productions Inc., which controls the pioneering punk band’s music and other assets.
However, they’ve had a rocky partnership over the last decade that’s led to many lawsuits.
source: people.com
