When Griffith converted Miami’s Roxy theater into an all-nude club in 1994, he named it Club Madonna, provoking a legal threat from the pop star Madonna. Her attorneys argued that the name could make the public believe she endorsed the establishment and claimed that its use violated her trademark rights. Griffith’s lawyer answered with deliberately combative logic: “Madonna” was not merely a celebrity brand but a name in the public domain for centuries. Griffith himself refused to remove the sign, declaring that Club Madonna would remain in place as long as the law allowed it. The dispute became a quintessential collision between a global entertainer’s carefully managed image and an old-school adult-theater operator’s determination to exploit a provocative name.
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AI concept artworkArchive Record · 1990s
Leroy Griffith’s Club Madonna Trademark Duel with Madonna
Leroy Griffith and Madonna / 1990s
When Griffith converted Miami’s Roxy theater into an all-nude club in 1994, he named it Club Madonna, provoking a legal threat from the pop star Madonna. Her attorneys argued that the name could make the public believe she endorsed the establishment and claimed that its use violated her trademark rights. Griffith’s lawyer answered with deliberately combative logic: “Madonna” was not merely a celebrity brand but a name in the public domain for centuries. Griffith himself refused to remove the sign, declaring that Club Madonna would remain in place as long as the law allowed it. The dispute became a quintessential collision between a global entertainer’s carefully managed image and an old-school adult-theater operator’s determination to exploit a provocative name.
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