The Brother Of Joey Ramone Files Countersuit Against “Baseless and Flimsy” Biopic Lawsuit

The drama surrounding the Netflix movie about punk rock legends, the Ramones, has taken another turn. Joey Ramone’s brother, Mickey Leigh, is firing back at Johnny Ramone’s widow, Linda Cummings-Ramone, with a lawsuit of his own. He’s calling her claims to stop the film “weak and unfounded.”

Back in January, Cummings-Ramone sued Leigh, accusing him of secretly working on a Ramones biopic without her permission. She insisted that any true story about the band needed her say-so. But in a recent response filed on March 15, Leigh and his lawyers slammed her accusations. They said she had already given the green light for a film based on Leigh’s book years ago.

According to Billboard, Leigh’s legal team didn’t hold back, saying Cummings-Ramone’s real aim was to smear Leigh’s name, twist her role in the band’s history, and grab control of the Ramones’ legacy. They even suggested she’s after fame and power, which they say goes against her duty to work with Leigh.

Leigh also made it clear that the Netflix movie is mainly about his brother Joey, not a full-on Ramones biography as Cummings-Ramone suggested. This difference is key, showing that the movie is more about Leigh’s personal story than the band as a whole.

This legal tussle adds another layer of drama to the Netflix project, which was first announced in April 2021. The movie, based on Leigh’s book, “I Slept With Johnny Ramone,” features Pete Davidson as the star and Jason Orley as the director. But since then, there’s been little news about the film’s progress.

Leigh and Cummings-Ramone both control the Ramones’ music and assets as executors of Joey and Johnny’s estates. But their relationship has been rocky. In 2018, Leigh sued Cummings-Ramone for using the Ramones name on projects without his OK, including a proposed “Ramones Ranch” in Los Angeles.

As the legal fight continues, the fate of the Netflix movie hangs in the balance. With conflicting stories and personal agendas at play, the battle over the Ramones’ legacy shows just how complicated it can be to preserve the story of an iconic band for future generations.