The Office’s B.J. Novak to Sue Ray Wert of Jalopnik.com for Identity Theft
After the breakdown of negotiations last week in Beverly Hills’ prestigious Sprinkles Cupcakes, B.J. Novak, the writer and star of the hit T.V. show The Office looks set to sue Ray Wert, the Editor-in-Chief of the popular automotive website Jalopnik.com. Copies of Novak’s legal correspondence (unfortunately smudged with banana-chocolate frosting) claim Wert “intentionally and maliciously stole my on-screen character, Ryan Howard, for use in his business dealings.” MetaCars has obtained court papers to be filed next week. They allege that Wert not only copied Novak’s on-screen appearance, but “emulate Novak’s comedically douchey persona.”
The chief of the MetaCars L.A. bureau spoke with Novak’s attorney, who confirmed that Novak is moving forward with a lawsuit. “We’ll be filing papers in a Los Angeles court next week. It’s obvious that this Wort fellow has patterned his entire package from my client’s creation, the Ryan Howard character. The slick ties, super-gelled hair, and overinflated sense of self importance: you don’t just happen on those by accident.” Mr. Wert’s assistant told MetaCars that he was “attending a press conference with some really important, no — seriously important people from GM at the RenCen”, and thus would be unable to comment until something happened with his friend at the New York Times and the Obama administration.