Remember the unnamed Asian American actress who was suing the Internet Movie Database for posting her age on her public IMDb profile? In an amended court filing, she has revealed her name: Huong Hoang, aka Junie Hoang: Actress Suing IMDB Reveals Her Real Name.Junie Hoang, who you know and love from such recent classics as Gingerbread Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver and Hoodrats 2: Hoodrat Warriors, claims that IMDb violated her privacy by posting her age, which she says has led to a "substantial decrease in acting credits, employment opportunities and earnings."
Hoang's lawsuit generated tons of attention when it was filed a few months ago, partly because the plaintiff was anonymous and mostly because it brought up the thorny issue of ageism in Hollywood. The actor guilds SAG and AFTRA both backed the lawsuit, and one actor wrote an opinion piece for The Hollywood Reporter slamming the widely used IMDb for getting his age wrong.I'm going to be honest. After a great deal of speculation over the identity of this actress when news of the lawsuit first broke, upon finding out her name I was kind of like... who? Then again, now her name is all over the trades. Suddenly, Junie Hoang is not-so-anonymous.
Amazon, IMDb's parent, asked a federal judge to force the plaintiff to reveal herself, citing the judicial process' strong preference for transparency and its belief that proceeding openly would not subject Hoang to measurable discrimination in Hollywood. Hoang, repped by Washington lawyer John Dozier, opposed the effort to unmask her, but on Dec. 23 the judge ruled that Hoang must come forward with a new complaint under her own name or it would be dismissed.
While I can see where Hoang is coming from -- it's hard enough being Asian in Hollywood, without factoring in age -- but I still fail to see the effectiveness of her lawsuit. I guess we'll see. More here: Lawyer for Unmasked Actress Suing IMDb: 'My Client Is Willing to See This Case to Its Conclusion.'
