Huong Hoang, a/k/a, Junie Hoang, star of Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver, recently lost her suit against the Internet Movie Database when a Washington State Federal Jury rejected her claim that the database provider breached Hoang’s subscriber agreement.
The B-movie actress sued IMBd.com after it published her true date of birth over her objection. Originally suing as ‘Jane Doe’ in 2011 claiming breach of contract, fraud, and violations of Washington’s privacy and consumer protection laws, Hoang had to re-file using her true name after U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled that she could not proceed anonymously.
As her 30th birthday approved – based on the false birth date originally provided to the site – Hoang requested that the site remove her age on her profile. The site refused unless Hoang could prove that the date of birth as provided by her was incorrect. When Hoang referred the site to her account information, and after conducting a public records search based on Hoang’s account information, the site was able to ascertain her actual birth date and published it on the site.
Hoang, according to her complaint, attempted to shed light on the taboo subject of age discrimination in Hollywood. She argued that if “one is perceived to be ‘over-the-hill,’ i.e., approaching 40, it is nearly impossible for an up-and-coming actress…to get work as she is thought to have less of an ‘upside’”. In response, IMBd argued that Hoang, herself, breached the subscriber agreement, which allows for subscribers to withhold certain information, when she provided a false date of birth with her original portfolio making her seven years younger.