Celebrity Scandal!
Sylvester Stallone fighting Hollywood auction fraud?
[Apr. 13] Breaking News —
When word that the gloves from Rocky, as worn by green celebrity Sylvester Stallone himself, would be hitting the auction block, Sly himself did a double-take. He says the gloves are not the originals, and he’s had his attorney send a cease and desist letter, according to TMZ.
This could be trouble for Profiles in History, which deals in memorabilia and planned to auction the Rocky gloves next month. Profiles in History has complied and says it will withdraw the gloves from auction, though it claims to be very certain the storied gloves are legitimate.
According to IMDb, in addition to the gloves supposedly worn by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky, also up for auction are the robe Jeff Bridges wore in The Big Lebowski, the tweed jacket worn by James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause, a handwritten letter from Walt Disney, an “everlasting gobstopper” from Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, and a golden calf from The Ten Commandments.
But among all these items, green celebrity Sylvester Stallone claims the gloves to be auctioned are not actually the gloves he wore in Rocky. And his lawyer, Marty Singer, has been very demanding in the cease and desist letter, insisting that any attempt by Profiles in History to continue marketing the gloves as those worn by Sylvester Stallone in Rocky will be met with a particularly powerful lawsuit for damages.
UPDATE: [Apr. 13 7:00 PM EST] It looks like Sly kicked their butts, because the auction house has thrown in the towel and pulled the Rocky boxing gloves out of their Hollywood memorabilia sale.
GREEN CELEBRITY STATS:
Sylvester Stallone is a green celebrity with ties to charity for the victims of 9/11. He appeared in the America: A Tribute to Heroes telethon to benefit the victims. He also is a supporter of the Pediatric Epilepsy Project, which conducts clinical research in an effort to improve the lives of children with neurological disorders.
Just late last year, Sly did in fact autograph a pair of boxing gloves for Autograph Store Charity Fundraising. and he posed for a photograph with one of the collectors for the charity. However, the gloves signed for the charity clearly are not the gloves that Sylvester Stallone wore in Rocky and which were supposed to be auctioned by Profiles in History.