Kin of ‘Body Worlds’ donor sues over ‘Single Ladies’ pose

Categorized | World

Tags : Beyoncé Knowles, Body Worlds, gays, Gunther von Hagens, Institute for Plastination, plastination, Single Ladies

Kin of ‘Body Worlds’ donor sues over ‘Single Ladies’ pose

Published on February 15, 2010 ⋅ Written by Benderson Hoover ⋅ Email this article ⋅ Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

Single Ladies pose: Kin didn't like it and wants $20 million USD for it

Titisee-Neustadt, Germany -- The family of a man who donated his body for use in the "Body Worlds" traveling exhibition of real human bodies is suing the organizers for posing his cadaver in a move from Beyoncé Knowles's "Single Ladies" video.

In a lawsuit filed with the Tübingen district court in the state of Baden-Württemberg, plaintiff Laura Scherlinger claims that defendants Dr. Gunther von Hagens and the Institute for Plastination willfully disregarded the wishes of her late uncle, Andreas Loch, and proceeded to defame his character post mortem by placing his plastinated body in a "suggestively gay pose."

"If my uncle was buried in the ground, he'd be rolling in his grave right now," said Scherlinger, 34, referring to "The Dance Of Life," the exhibit featuring Loch's body, which opened in Linz, Austria in November last year. "He was a skilled ballroom dancer in his life and wanted to be remembered as such in death. This is an abomination of his legacy."

Scherlinger stressed that she does not have anything against Ms. Knowles or the gay community, saying: "This is simply a matter of honouring the wishes of a departed loved one."

Loch died in 2006 at age 52 due to acute tetrodotoxin poisoning from an incorrectly prepared fugu, or pufferfish. Loch had seen the first Body Worlds exhibit in Tokyo in 1995 and donated his body for plastination two years later. In his last will, the former senior bank executive had bequeathed 100,000 euros ($136,000 USD) to the Institute for Plastination with the hope that his body will be used in a manner that would honour his life and legacy. His body was prepared for plastination 11 months after his death.

"We were excited to attend the opening of The Dance Of Life," said Scherlinger. "But that was quickly doused when we saw what they did to Uncle Andy."

Lawyers representing Dr. von Hagens and the IFP are dismissing the plaintiff's claims as "ludicrous and absolutely rooted in frivolity." According to chief legal counsel Fredrik Fligge, all the procedural protocols were followed in the treatment of Loch's cadaver.

"IFP always treats its donors with utmost respect and it was no different with Mr. Loch," added Fligge. When asked whether or not the "Body Worlds" organizers intentionally placed Mr. Loch in a "Single Ladies" dance move similar to the one shown in the picture above, Mr. Fligge refused to respond directly, saying: "The exhibit which features Mr. Loch is all about the power and influence of dance, and his display has been crafted with careful thought and much reverence."

Scherlinger is seeking punitive damages of up to 15 million euros (roughly $20 million USD) for "familial distress and erosion of dignity." Preliminary hearings to decide whether or not the case can go to trial are set to be heard in late May.