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Judge blocks planned sale of Whitney Houston’s Emmy Award
Posted On Jun 24 2016
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The Television Academy is suing to stop Whitney Houston’s heirs from selling her Emmy statuette because the sale would tarnish the award, according to a complaint filed Wednesday (June 22) in California federal court.
In addition to her wedding dress, passport, driver’s license, clothing and more, Houston’s family is attempting to unload her Emmy Award through Heritage Auction.
If an heir no longer wants an Emmy Award, it must be returned to the academy for storage in “memory of the recipient”, according to court filings.
Houston was awarded an Emmy in 1986 for outstanding individual performance in a variety or music program for her performance of “Saving All My Love For You” at that year’s Grammys.
The TV academy also filed a request for a temporary restraining order to halt the auction.
Heritage Auctions plans to donate their entire commission from the sale, which is still slated for Friday, to a charity chosen by the Houston clan.
However, Heritage Auctions is firing back.
“The Television Academy has met its burden that the Emmy statuette given to Ms. Houston for her to take home, as opposed to the prop statuette presented during the awards ceremony, contained the label stating that the statuette ‘is the property of and all rights are reserved by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, ‘” U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson wrote. “Why are they taking on the Houstons?” he said. Academy attorney Scott Commerson with Davis Wright Tremaine referred questions to a spokesman, Jim Yeager, who said he could not comment.
The award had been expected to go for upwards of $10,000 at auction.
TMZ reported that the Academy includes a sticker on the bottom of every statuette produced between 1978 to 1994 that states the awards are their property.
In response, Heritage Auctions president Greg Rohan told TheWrap, “The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences claims that at the time Ms. Houston received that Emmy statuette she signed an agreement that it would not be sold”.
