Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon may be facing an uphill battle when it comes to their efforts to trademark their Reasonably Shady podcast — if it’s possible at all.
After the Real Housewives of Potomac cast members attempted to trademark their shared series, rapper Eminem came forward, filing an opposition against them and suggesting that the name was too similar to his own moniker, Slim Shady, and 1999 album The Slim Shady LP.
According to a February 20 report from The Jasmine Brand, Eminem appears to feel that Gizelle and Robyn’s use of the word “shady” would confuse consumers, who have long been familiar with his own brands.
On Twitter, copyright attorney Clarissa Harvey shared a series of court documents filed by the rapper, noting that he was opposing the RHOP cast member’s trademark application, which the ladies filed on February 1, 2022.
“Will the real ‘SLIM SHADY’ please stand up? Rapper Eminem is opposing Robyn Dixon [and] Gizelle Bryant from Bravo’s Real Housewives of Potomac‘s, trademark application for ‘REASONABLY SHADY,’ the name of their new podcast,” she tweeted on February 19.
In his opposing documents, which were filed on December 20, 2022, Eminem noted that he’s had exclusive rights to the phrase “Slim Shady” since 1998 and also owns a legal registration for “Shady.” And as the attorney explained in an additional tweet, he was also granted official usage of the word “Shady” for T-shirts, sweatshirts, and hats.
Gizelle and Robyn first launched their Reasonably Shady brand in 2021 and are hoping to produce merchandise to go along with it. But due to the rapper’s opposition, it’s hard to say whether they’ll be able to do so.
“Eminem says ‘confusion is unavoidable,'” Clarissa continued. “‘REASONABLY SHADY’ simply looks [and] sounds like ‘SHADY’ and it’s likely that consumers will believe the podcast and merch are sponsored, licensed and/or otherwise approved by, or are in some way connected with him.”
It was also noted that Eminem “directly stated” that the similarities in Gizelle and Robyn’s names could blatantly affect “the distinctive quality” of his long-standing “Slim Shady” label.
