KEY POINTS:
It certainly wasn't the first broken celebrity relationship to end up in court, but Hollywood star Charlize Theron's split from Swiss watch manufacturer Raymond Weil could very well turn into one of the most expensive.
The Oscar-winning actress learned last week that she will have to pay "substantial" damages to the luxury goods manufacturer after breaking a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal by wearing other designers' timepieces.
Raymond Weil is seeking US$20 million (NZ$32.5 million) in compensation after the South African-born star was photographed showing off a watch produced by its arch-rival Christian Dior during an 11-month period when she was being paid to be the "face" of Raymond Weil.
In a 32-page judgment which lays bare many of the perks of a film star's existence, New York Judge Colleen McMahon ruled that Theron, 33, repeatedly ignored the terms of her contract with Raymond Weil, most notably at a film festival news conference in Texas.
The ruling lifts the lid on the intriguing world of celebrity endorsements which has recently seen a host of stars sued for allegedly breaking sponsorship deals, including Desperate Housewives actress Teri Hatcher and singer Jessica Simpson.
The judgment revealed Theron was paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to wear different brands of jewellery on red carpets and in photoshoots, and received $3 million to endorse Dior's best-selling J'adore perfume in a series of advertisements. She received $50,000 for wearing Chopard jewellery to the 2006 Bafta Awards in London, and a further $200,000 for wearing two items from the firm's range to that year's Oscars.
Montblanc paid a charity $250,000 for Theron to model one of its silver necklaces. Raymond Weil was prompted to sue Theron after the actress was photographed wearing a Dior watch during a press conference at the Texas Film Festival.
Although Theron only wore the timepiece for an hour, several American newspapers ran pictures captioned "Charlize Theron wears Dior". "By wearing a Christian Dior watch at the film festival, Theron breached her covenant not to 'wear publicly any watches other than Raymond Weil'," ruled Judge McMahon.
"Theron recognises as much, calling her decision to wear the watch 'regrettable'. It was more than 'regrettable', it was a clear breach of the agreement." Theron's lawyers had claimed in her defence that she was guilty of an oversight rather than a deliberate fraud, and that she'd never understood the terms of her original contract.
However, Judge McMahon ruled that Theron "was not an unwary agent", noting that her initials appeared 10 times on the 10-page contract. Both sides in the dispute have been ordered to attend a pre-trial settlement conference on November 7. Should they fail to reach an agreement on the level of damages, the case will go before a jury.
The watchmaker's lawyer, David Jaroslawicz, has said his client spent more than $20 million on the Theron campaign. The bitterness of the legal battle is a far cry from 2005, when the model-turned-actress signed her original deal with Raymond Weil. Back then, the company's chief executive, Olivier Bernheim, gushed that the Hollywood star, who won an Oscar for 2003's Monster and has appeared in such films as North Country and Aeon Flux, was a "stunning and radiant woman who transcends any standard definition, and has evolved into a feminine myth, an icon".
Like a decent watch, he added, she represented "beauty, style and perfection of function" and meeting her offered "an unforgettable encounter, a moment of pure magic where time seems to vanish".
It is believed Theron makes about $10 million per big-budget film - but that's still not enough to put her among last year's top 10 highest-paid Hollywood actresses. (Reese Witherspoon was Number 1, with $15-20 million per film, followed by Angelina Jolie and Cameron Diaz, according to Hollywood Reporter.)
No stranger to trouble, Theron grew up on her parents' farm near Johannesburg and at age 15 witnessed her mother shoot dead her father, an abusive alcoholic, in self-defence. When a knee injury ended her budding ballet career as a teen, she flew to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket her mother bought her.
During her hard-scrabble early months there, she was spotted by an agent who had seen her engaged in a shouting match with a bank teller who refused to cash a cheque. Acting school and movie stardom soon followed.
When celeb endorsements go bad
The bigger the name, the harder they can fall. Although a tie-in between a celebrity and a product can boost sales, there's also a very public downside if the celebrity falls from grace.
Kate Moss
In 2005, supermodel Kate Moss was publicly dismissed from campaigns with Swedish fashion retailer H&M, Chanel, and Burberry after the publication of tabloid photos of the actress apparently using cocaine. Ultimately, Moss was cleared of all charges and resumed her modelling career, continuing to promote major campaigns for Dior.
Cybill Shepherd
America's Beef Industry Council enlisted TV's Moonlighting star Cybill Shepherd in 1987 to expound on her beef cravings for a "Real food for real people" campaign. The move backfired when Shepherd later admitted that she didn't eat meat.
OJ Simpson
Hertz rental cars capitalised on football star-turned-actor O.J. Simpson's appeal with ads that first aired in 1975 - and was then stuck with the mental link after Simpson (who had lead police on a slow motorway chase) was charged with the brutal murders of his ex-wife and her friend in 1994. He was acquitted but later found guilty in a civil case.
Kobe Bryant
In 2001, basketball star Kobe Bryant lost millions in endorsement deals with McDonald's, Sprite, and Nutella after he was charged with sexual assault. (Charges were later dropped.)
The Olsen Twins
America's prominent "Got milk?" campaign pulled ads with twins Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen in 2004 when Mary-Kate checked into a treatment facility for anorexia.
Teri Hatcher
The Desperate Housewives star was sued by Hydroderm earlier this year after they claimed she promoted other companies' beauty products. Hatcher insisted that her promotion of CityLips' lip plumper did not affect her Hydroderm deal. The case is currently in arbitration.
Jessica Simpson
Singer Jessica Simpson is defending a lawsuit from Tarrant Apparel, upset that she has failed to wear its clothes at public events.
- INDEPENDENT
