Eminem has requested a protective order against Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon in their ongoing trademark dispute over the “Real Housewives of Potomac” stars “Reasonably Shady” podcast.
The “Lose Yourself” rapper filed the motion on Dec. 15 so he would not have to show up in person for a deposition with the Bravolebrities, according to docs obtained by AllHipHop.
Eminem — whose real name is Marshall Mathers, but is known by the moniker Slim Shady and Shady — argued that it would be “unduly burdensome” if he were to appear in court and claimed he has a “limited knowledge of the subjects at issue.”
His attorneys offered three people, including the rapper’s manager Paul Rosenberg, who would be willing to appear, as they have “equal and superior knowledge to [him] on the relevant topics.”
However, according to the rapper’s lawyers, Dixon and Bryant have “remain[ed] insistent on deposing Mathers,” so they are asking for “a protective order precluding the deposition of Marshall Mathers.”
Dixon and Bryan’s attorney, Andrea Evans, told Pvnew in a statement that Eminem filed the order “to preserve the confidentiality of the information.”
“The main issue now is that Mathers is refusing to be deposed. Mathers is the owner of the marks at issue and his attorneys are saying he doesn’t have information about the marks. We have filed a motion to compel Mathers to be deposed. It seems obvious to us that if you file a lawsuit, you should be made available to be deposed,” she continued.
Evans explained that they are waiting for the ruling and would “like to question Mathers at least about his use of the expressions Slim Shady and Shady.”
“It’s unclear to us that Mathers can be the owner of the trademarks and file this suit against our clients but he will not make himself available to be deposed,” she told us.
The trademark battle began after the “Real Housewives” stars filed to trademark their podcast’s name, “Reasonably Shady,” in an intention to sell various pieces of merchandise in February 2023.
But just a few weeks later, Eminem filed an opposition to Bryant and Dixon’s trademark request.
The “Real Slim Shady” rapper, 51, claimed that his brand would be “damaged,” and the two brands could “cause confusion in the minds of consumers.”
The reality TV stars have since fought back against the millionaire rapper and asked the judge to deny his opposition in a March 2023 filing.
“Robyn Dixon and Gizelle Bryant deny any likelihood of confusion between Mather’s trademarks and their Reasonably Shady mark,” told Pvnew at the time.
“We are prepared to defend any allegations against them regarding their intellectual property.”
Bryant and Dixon launched their “Reasonably Shady” podcast in 2021 and have since become one of the most successful podcasts released by Bravo stars.
