Geller Sues Over 'Evil' Pokemon Character

Psychic spoon-bender Uri Geller yesterday launched a lawsuit against electronic games firm Nintendo, accusing it of turning him into an "evil, occult Pokemon character" by naming one of its cartoon figures after him.

Geller, a former Israeli paratrooper famous for using mysterious mental powers to bend spoons, is claiming hundreds of millions of pounds in damages from the Japanese company.

He claims Nintendo "debased" his name by creating the Pokemon character, a monster named "Yun Geller" who carries a spoon and uses psychic mind-waves to give his victims bad headaches.

"Nintendo turned me into an evil, occult Pokemon character," Geller said in a statement. "Nintendo stole my identity by using my name and my signature image of a bent spoon."

Having long threatened legal action, he said he had finally filed a lawsuit in the US District Court in Los Angeles to protect his name "but also to tell the world before the start of the holiday season that I have nothing whatsoever to do with these violent characters that have a negative impact on children".

He and his lawyer, Marshall Grossman, suggested there were also elements of anti-Semitism in the character. Mr Grossman said he would seek "hundreds of millions" of dollars in damages and aimed to force Nintendo to drop the character from its products.

Geller, who was born in Israel and now lives in Sonning, Berks, said he was particularly offended that the Pokemon monster is depicted with lightning bolts on his chest, which he said are reminiscent of a similar symbol used by the Nazi SS.

The monster also bears a star on his forehead, which Mr Grossman said appeared to be a Star of David.

The character, which is found on a Pokemon trading card and appears sporadically in cartoons, has a Japanese name which translates in English as "Yun Geller" and is usually seen carrying a spoon.

"Uri Geller is internationally known as a spoon bender," Mr Grossman said. "To duplicate his name and his signature is bad enough. But to then brand him in an evil way and place on his character the German SS lightning bolts and what appears to be a yellow Star of David is despicable."

In December 1999, Nintendo stopped production of a Pokemon card after consumers complained that an ancient Japanese symbol on it too closely resembled a swastika.

Geller's lawsuit, which describes him as a "world famous entertainer, author, radio personality and teacher" who has devoted his life to understanding the power of the human mind, claims that Nintendo's use of his name could "confuse and deceive" consumers into thinking that he endorsed the products.

Pokemon, a Japanese term derived from the English words "pocket monster", is one of the world's most popular video games and the focus of a youth-based merchandising phenomenon.Nintendo last night refused to comment on the lawsuit. The Kyoto-based firm estimates retail sales of franchised products - which range from trading cards to stuffed toys - will top £2billion this year in the US alone.

• Story originally published in •
Daily Express / London - November 3 2000