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Felice Herrig is a strawweight MMA fighter who is a white woman with blonde hair who blows gum bubbles occasionally and takes a lot of selfies. Cassie Cage, the Mortal Kombat X character (daughter of OG’s Johnny Cage and Sonya Blade), is a former MMA fighter, a white woman with blonde hair who blows gum bubbles occasionally and has a selfie fatality. Does that mean Cassie Cage is a ripoff of Felice Herrig’s likeness?
It started three months ago, with this Instagram post by Herrig of a screenshot of Cage from a MKX promo:
Now, that could be taken in jest, despite the absence of a “lol” or a laughing emoji, but as more footage and promo materials came out in advance of the game’s release, it got a little too real for Herrig:
Those side-by-sides do lend some credence to Herrig’s claims. Yes, an attractive, blonde MMA fighter seems like a stock character in a fighting video game (and there is a more famous blonde MMA fighter out there), but there are definite similarities in facial structure and, in some cases, hairstyle. If the game’s creators publicly said they created Cage’s character while looking at Herrig’s Instagram, I’d believe it.
On the other hand, Herrig isn’t out here inventing Instagram poses. Coincidence is still in play. But when you factor in the MMA history, you add another layer of similarity (taken from a cinematic from the one-player story):
Also they have Cassie Cage doing MMA where you win by doing a murder. That'll be reality in UFC in ten years. pic.twitter.com/r9JjiiuTCl
— Barry (@TheBarrylad) April 12, 2015
And then, of course, there’s the selfie fatality. When it was first released, we thought it was just the Mortal Kombat franchise trying to stay hip and contemporary, and also that it was pretty funny. That could still be true. But in the context of a potential likeness theft, it appears less benign:
There’s considerable support on Twitter for Herrig’s claim (amid the sadly predictable trolling), but there’s simply not enough evidence yet to prove anything in either direction. In any case, that was posted a week ago, and Herrig hasn’t mentioned it publicly since, nor has Mortal Kombat X publisher Warner Bros. addressed the issue. Maybe they settled it behind closed doors, or maybe Herrig doesn’t want the headache of litigation. Either way, the game was only officially released yesterday, so this may not be the end of the story.