Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner settles $5million lawsuit against Hasbro over toy hamster she says was named after her and looked like her
- Fox anchor Harris Faulkner sued the toy company in September 2015
- She claimed that a hamster toy Hasbro sold under the name Harris Faulkner was her name and likeness
- The company says the rodent was not named after her, nor does it look like her, but settled anyway for an undisclosed amount
A Fox News anchor has settled a $5 million lawsuit against Hasbro over a plastic toy hamster that shared her name and that she said was designed to look like her.
Harris Faulkner, who hosts the show 'Outnumbered,' sued Pawtucket-based Hasbro Inc. in federal court in New Jersey last year.
She said a plastic hamster named Harris Faulkner that was part of the company's Littlest Pet Shop line wrongfully appropriated her name and persona, harmed her credibility as a journalist and was an insult.
Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner settled a $5 million lawsuit against Hasbro over a toy hamster bearing her name and, she insisted, her likeness
Harris Faulkner, the hamster not the news anchor, above, is no longer manufactured or sold by Hasbro, who ponied up an undisclosed settlement
Faulkner's lawsuit said the hamster, sidekick to a terrier named Benson Detwyler, bore a physical resemblance to Faulkner's traditional professional appearance, including its complexion, eye shape and eye makeup design.
Faulkner was especially upset because the packaging declared 'Harris Faulkner is a choking hazard,' according to NBC.
She also found 'her' portrayal as rodent to be demeaning and insulting, and that, as a journalist, she is not allowed to 'endorse products.'
Hasbro, whose other products include the Furby and Play-Doh, had said the hamster was not named for Faulkner and didn't look like her, either. It argued the hamster was 'an inch-tall, cartoon-like plastic animal' with no apparent gender or profession.'
Other names in the line included Pepper Clark (a skunk) and Sunil Nevla (a mongoose.)
Both sides filed papers Wednesday asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
The conservative anchor recently had potential First Son Eric Trump on her show 'Outnumbered'
In a statement, Faulkner and Hasbro said the lawsuit was 'settled amicably,' although they didn't release details.
'The 'Harris Faulkner' toy is no longer manufactured or sold by Hasbro,' the statement said. 'However, since there still may be 'Harris Faulkner' toys or packaging with the 'Harris Faulkner' name in the stream of commerce, Ms. Faulkner reiterates that she has not endorsed or approved this product.'
In July, a judge rejected a motion to discuss saying that the same unusual name was enough to let the case proceed and had set up a future 'fact finding mission' to see if the journalist and the hamster were being confused in the public's eye, but that will no longer go forward due to the settlement, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Faulkner has worked at Fox for more than a decade. She previously worked in Minnesota for ABC affiliate KSTP-TV and hosted 'The Harris Faulkner Show' on FM107 Radio.
In the 1990s, she was the primary evening anchor for WDAF-TV in Kansas City, Missouri.
Many of her Facebook fans were bewildered over Faulkner's lawsuit.
'Good God, Harris! It should have been a compliment . Like you, it is so adorable,' wrote one fan.
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