Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Brand Owner Sues My Chemical Romance Over Hollywood Bowl Costumes

Pro Silver Star, the company that owns the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders brand, filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction in a Texas district court late last week to stop My Chemical Romance from using costumes resembling the cheerleaders' blue-and-white uniform. The filing followed the band's Wednesday show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, where dancers dressed like Cowboys cheerleaders carried what appeared to be rifles and staged a fake gunfight in which they were shown being shot, according to the filing. The company argued that audience members and online commentators believed the performers were the real squad, and it cited social media posts in which fans debated the question. It said it is not litigious, has no issue with the band's music or message, and asks only that the performers not wear the uniform, noting that alternative costume designs are effectively unlimited. Billboard reported that the band has reportedly chosen to drop the uniforms to resolve the trademark lawsuit.

The right-leaning Daily Wire leads with the dispute itself, calling it a war between the cheerleaders and the emo rockers over a mock gunfight. It relays the filing's detail, citing NBC News: the rifles, the dancers being shot, the fan confusion and the company's direct quotes about not being litigious. CBS News, on the left, frames it more briefly as a legal fight over look-alike costumes and centers on the legal action against the band, without the gunfight or the company's statements in the excerpt provided. Both agree that the brand owner is taking legal action over uniforms worn at the Hollywood Bowl. They differ in emphasis: the Daily Wire dramatizes the stage scene and the company's claims, while CBS keeps to the legal dispute. Billboard, the alternative outlet, offers a distinct angle by focusing on the reported outcome, the band ditching the uniforms to settle the matter.