The creators of the Peppa Pig cartoon are being sued by an Italian woman who shares her name with one of the show’s characters.
Gabriella Capra is claiming damages of €100,000 (£80,000) from animation studio Astley Baker Davies after being on the receiving end of constant jokes and derision by her friends and family after an Italian-dubbed version of the programme aired in Italy earlier this year.
In one episode, Peppa Pig and her family go on holiday to Italy where she befriends a character called Gabriella Goat, with producers using the same alliterative nomenclature of the cartoon’s lead character. However, as the Italian word for goat is ‘capra’, in the Italian-dubbed version of the episode, the character’s name is directly translated to Gabriella Capra.
According to the lawsuit, Gabriella Capra claims that she has been the “frequent object of derisive jokes by friends and colleagues” after the little goat character introduced herself in the episode with the words:
“Hello. I am Gabriella Goat. Baaaaa” / “Buon giorno, sono Gabriella Capra. Baaaaa”