Paddington rights holders sue over Spitting Image parody

StudioCanal and the estate of Paddington Bear creator Michael Bond have launched a High Court action in the United Kingdom against Avalon, the production company behind Spitting Image, after a summer YouTube sketch depicted the children's character as a foulmouthed, drug-using podcast host. The claim, filed this year, cites alleged breaches of copyright and design rights arising from the episode, which rights holders say repurposed the bear in an offensive adult context without their consent.

The contested sketch, presented as Spitting Image Presents The Rest Is Bulls!t, lampooned contemporary podcasts by pairing a puppet Paddington with a caricature of Prince Harry. In filmed segments the puppet adopts a South American accent, jokes about a fictional role as "Pablo Escobear" and makes explicit references to cocaine, including a scene in which the character appears to snort a white powder. One line in the sketch declares, "I am from Peru, motherfuckers, I am Paddington Bear from Peru," a phrase that has been cited in court filings as emblematic of the allegedly damaging portrayal. The episode also featured a satirical interview with a puppet version of Elon Musk and has been...