Community Corner
Adler Planetarium Astronomer Drops Lawsuit Against American Girl
The Chicago institution employee filed a lawsuit against the toy company for creating a doll they said looked like the planetarium fellow.
CHICAGO — An Adler Planetarium astronomer dismissed a lawsuit this week they had filed against American Girl for creating a doll they said was modeled off of the famous astronomer.
The popular toy manufacturing company marketed the alleged lookalike doll as an "aspiring astronaut ready to take the next giant leap to Mars."
Lucianne Walkowicz, a senior fellow at the planetarium, wanted American Girl to stop selling the item after noticing the doll's funky shoes and streak of purple hair matched their own, the scientist said in court papers.
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Both parties agreed to dismiss the case on Tuesday without a financial settlement. On Thursday, the American Doll, whose name is "Luciana Vega," was still on the company's website.
Walkowicz originally filed the lawsuit in April 2020 near American Girl's headquarters in Wisconsin. The five-year Adler employee said representatives from American Girl heard a lecture they'd given and used Walkowicz as a model for the doll.
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