A US woman who was the centrepiece of a video about street harassment has filed a lawsuit against its director and the organisation that put it out.
Actress Shoshana Roberts, who was videotaped walking around New York while men commented on her appearance, filed her lawsuit in Manhattan earlier this week.
According to the lawsuit, her performance and likeness were used for "advertising or trade without her prior written consent", and she's seeking at least $US500,000 ($A674,990).
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The suit names director Rob Bliss and the anti-street harassment group that released the video last year, Hollaback!
The video compiled comments and catcalls that Roberts, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, heard from men as she walked Manhattan streets over the course of 10 hours.
Bliss walked in front of her with a camera in his backpack recording everything said to her as she went silently about her day.
The video, which received tens of millions of views online, spurred outrage and sparked conversations about street harassment.
Roberts had answered an ad and was chosen to be in the video.
Bliss didn't reply to an email seeking comment on the lawsuit.
A representative for Hollaback! said it hadn't been served with the papers and declined to comment further.
The video was so popular that parodies of it were made, with one a commercial for the TGI Friday's restaurant.
Roberts named the restaurant in the lawsuit along with the company that made the ad, Google and YouTube.
None of them replied to emails seeking comment.
