Peppa Pig is being sued by an Italian businesswoman after the makers introduced a character who shares her name, which she claims has 'turned her life into an animated cartoon'.
Gabriella Capra, whose surname means 'goat' in Italian, claims she has been made an object of ridicule since the introduction of the character Gabriella Goat (Gabriella Capra in the Italian version).
In the cartoon, Gabriella Goat introduces herself with a loud 'baa!', before visiting her uncle's pizza restaurant. Capra says that since the episode was broadcast, friends and co-workers have made her life a misery with by baa-ing at her, and making gags about pizza.
According to the suit she is pursuing against the company, this amounts to somewhere in the region of 100,000 euros worth of distress. If she is victorious, however, Capra plans to donate the money to a children's charity.
"Since this episode came out on the small screen she has been the frequent object of derisive jokes by friends and colleagues," said the National Foundation of Consumers, who are representing Capra in a civil suit.
A spokesperson from the Foundation said the introduction of the Gabriella Goat characters has left the 40-year-old 'innocently exposed to public hilarity' which is incompatible with her 'serious job with many responsibilities'.
Peppa Pig is the brainchild of British animators Astley Baker Davies, but has now become a truly global phenomenon, broadcast in 180 territories.
Italy is not immune to the pink porker's charms, and now even has its own Peppa Pig theme park. But as this case proves, not everyone is pleased about Peppa and co making it big in the Mediterranean.
Capra's representatives claim that the show's makers overlooked their responsibility to state clearly that any similarities to real persons was purely coincidental. The inclusion of such a disclaimer is standard practice in Italy, where citizens' names are afforded special protection under the law.
We can't help but think that Capra would do well to stop butting heads with her colleagues - after all, they're only kidding!
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You can meet Gabriella Goat (the characters!) in the Peppa Pig video below...