Grand Theft Auto and Rockstar Games has a long history of swimming neck deep in controversy and reveling in all the negative attention. A huge part of the reason for this is its supposedly derogatory depiction of women in the games.
Regardless of the criticism, Rockstar continues to use scantly clad women for its game’s promotional materials. This all started with Grand Theft Auto III, which featured Misty, a minor character in both Grand Theft Auto III and Grand Theft Auto Advance (alongside a cameo appearance in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City).
This was followed by the Twins in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas featuring several, including Rochell’le, an in-game fictional artist. Finally, Grand Theft Auto IV has a random prostitute as one of its loading screens while Grand Theft Auto V initially had a pair: a woman in a bikini striking the peace sign and another one in cuffs.
With Rockstar confirming that the initial reveal trailer for Grand Theft Auto 6 is coming in early December, GTA fans are naturally looking forward to the kind of loading screens that the next GTA game will feature.
But, if you ask Rubi Rose, she’d love for her likeness to be used in GTA 6.
Me perhaps https://t.co/SSEIrjUnl0
— Rubi Rose (@RubiRose) November 12, 2023
Rubi Rose is part of a new wave of American rappers, songwriters, and models that initially got their footings on Twitch. After years of releasing singles, modeling in music videos, Rose finally released her first mixtape in December 2020 and was eventually signed by Mogul Vision/Interscope earlier this year. She’s currently working on her debut album after releasing her first single, Hood Bitch Aesthetic.
Rockstar has used the likeness of other artists in the past. Most recently, GTA Online features Dr. Dre as part of the Cayo Perico DLC while DJ Pooh is a radio host in GTA 5.
But, while these are the notable “good” examples, Rockstar has found itself on the wrong end of lawsuits before for allegedly using the likeness of a celebrity without their permission before.
Specifically, Lindsay Lohan sued Rockstar for heavily featuring a character, Lacey Jones, as part of GTA 5’s promotional materials, that bore a striking resemblance to her. But, as the New York Supreme Court judge later ruled in favor of the developers, stating that the “indistinct, satirical representations of the style, look, and persona of a modern, beach-going young woman are not reasonably identifiable as plaintiff.
In this case though, Rubi Rose’s response to a tweet by Rockstar Groove’s co-owner all but confirms that the everything is in the clear and Rockstar is free to sign her should they please.
It remains to be seen if Rockstar will listen to Rose but it wouldn’t hurt to feature one of the music industry’s fastest-rising stars in what’s shaping up to be the most expensive video game ever made.
Take-Two Interactive recently hyped GTA 6 as part of its latest earnings call. The company’s ever-vocal CEO talked about the potential use of AI in GTA 6 and how the company isn’t about to start selling games at a lower price. Finally, Strauss Zelnick guaranteed that GTA 6 is safe from a potential delay resulting from a possible SAG-AFTRA strike.
