Pro Silver Star, owner of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders brand, filed a motion in Dallas County court Friday for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against My Chemical Romance and Live Nation Entertainment.
Silver Star owns the trademark rights to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniform, according to the filing provided by the company’s attorney. The filing alleges the band used the uniforms without permission, harmed the cheerleading team’s reputation and violated trademark laws.
My Chemical Romance performed its hit “Teenagers” on Wednesday at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. The song was part of the band’s theatrical “The Black Parade” concert, set in a fictional dystopian dictatorship, featuring pyrotechnics and armed conflict, according to the filing.
As the song picked up, a group of dancers took the stage in faux Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders uniforms, including shorts, a blue bolero blouse and a white vest decorated with stars.
Concertgoers shared videos of the performance, attracting attention on social media. The injunction alleges the performance caused widespread confusion, leading people to believe the dancers were the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.
Videos circulated online show the performance escalated as the “cheerleaders” danced with prop rifles, exchanged fake gunfire with uniformed men and crawled offstage after being “shot.”
The court filing cited several shared Instagram Reels, TikTok videos and an X post that tagged the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Court documents cite a TikTok post that reportedly showed attendees who believed the dancers were Cowboys cheerleaders. The video had garnered 21,600 likes and 1,863 shares, the filing states.
The court filing claims having the dancers in fake uniforms caused irreparable harm to the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders brand’s reputation that cannot be reversed.
Silver Star sent a cease-and-desist letter to the band and its representatives following the performance. My Chemical Romance refused to stop using the uniforms in the performance, according to the court filing.
Silver Star’s attorneys argue that “each night the counterfeits appear, tens of thousands more people see DCC’s uniform in a gunfight, and each video and repost carries that image further.”
Silver Star said it is not against the band’s music or artistic vision, but asks the band to express itself without roping the DCC uniform into their performances.
My Chemical Romance is scheduled to perform again with the uniformed dancers at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday and Oct. 30 and 31, according to the court filing. Live Nation, My Chemical Romance and the band’s representatives did not immediately respond to The Dallas Morning News inquiries regarding the legal filing.
The legal action came the same day the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders announced they had unionized. The Cowboys recognized the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Association after “meaningful discussion” between the team and the newly formed union. The parties are set to begin collective bargaining.