Real Reason Behind George Lucas’ Lawsuit Against Rap Musician Who Threatened His Star Wars Legacy

Creator of popular and successful franchises including Star Wars and Indiana Jones, George Lucas served as the chairman of Lucasfilm until 2012. He is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in the 20th-century Hollywood. Despite his franchises being extremely popular and successful, Lucas has remained an independent filmmaker.

The Star Wars franchise began with the 1977 movie Episode IV: A New Hope and upon release became an instant hit in pop culture. Over the years, the franchise has ventured into various movies, television series, video games, comic books, and more. Undoubtedly, it is one of the most loved and highest-grossing media franchises of all time. But there is someone who will never watch Star Wars movies and won’t allow his children to watch it either,

Luther Campbell of 2 Live Crew recalls his legal battle with George Lucas

In an interview with Vulture, Luther Campbell, frontman of 2 Live Crew, detailed his legal battle with Star Wars creator George Lucas over the name ‘Luke Skywalker’. The publication noted that Campbell was also known as Luke, even though he was born Luther. The artist explained,

The only people who called me Luther were the government or teachers. Even my mom called me Luke.

Billboard reported that before 2 Live Crew was formed in 1985, Campbell was a local DJ for clubs and parties in Miami in the early 1980s. He reportedly went by the name ‘Luke Skywalker,’ and his name was inspired by New York Knicks star Kenny ‘Sky’ Walker, and not Mark Hamill’s Star Wars character.

2 Live Crew weren’t ‘famous’ outside of Florida, and then in late 1989, the group released their wildly controversial yet best-selling third album, As Nasty As They Wanna Be. The album featured a song titled Me So Horny, which garnered attention as the band expected. The song also caught the attention of Lucas, who became concerned about the ‘non-family-friendly Luke Skywalker’. He wanted to protect the legacy of the character.

In 1990, Lucas filed a $300 million lawsuit charging the artist and the label, known as ‘Luke Skywalker‘, with allegations including trademark infringement and unfair competition. Campbell shares,

That was hardcore. I couldn’t deal with George Lucas suing me because I didn’t expect it. I could have settled, but then I watched the movie, and I decided to fight it because I didn’t think I was infringing.

He also noted that he is rapping about how he as Luke Skywalker wants p***y, pointing out how is that infringing on a character in a movie that does not feature any rap music. 

According to the publication, Lucas claimed that his lawyers had warned Campbell in early 1987 to drop the nickname, which was trademarked. However, Campbell states that he didn’t know that there was a character named Luke Skywalker until one of his lawyers informed him, adding that he didn’t see any problem with it even then. He tweaked the spelling to ‘Luke Skyywalker,’ but it didn’t work.

Entertainment lawyer Bertram Fields represented Lucasfilm and shared with the LA Times in 1990 (via Vulture) that the trade name is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He noted that the confusion between the character’s name and the artist’s name could be very damaging to the company, especially with the kind of lyrics 2 Live Crew has been using. He concluded that Luke Skywalker is supposed to be a clean-cut, moral young man, and they are protecting the image they built.

Luke Campbell remains bitter about being ripped off for half a million dollars

A 2 Live Crew frontman was reportedly arrested for wearing a t-shirt that had a logo of Luke Skyywalker as it violated a judge’s injunction that barred him from continuing to use the name. Campbell mentioned to Vulture,

I was fighting George Lucas in his backyard. Even though Star Wars is so far away from 2 Live Crew and rap music, I decided to take it on the chin.

Lucas and Campbell settled the lawsuit out of court after several appearances and public statements. The artist was forced to change his nickname to just Luke and the record label’s name to Luke Records. He wasn’t happy about it, and mentioned,

I respect the fact that people love the movie. George Lucas made a helluva movie and a brand. People love it. But he took nearly half a million dollars from me.

The artist is salty because he concluded by stating that he likes Star Trek, adding that if people are Trekkies, they surely don’t like Star Wars. Luke Campbell has refused to watch Star Wars movies and has not allowed his kids to watch them either.

Star Wars movies and shows are available to watch on Disney+.