Eminem took legal action against two Real Housewives of Potomac stars (Picture: Getty)
Eminem has requested a protective order against Real Housewives of Potomac stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon, it has been claimed.
The Lose Yourself rapper, real name Marshall Mathers, has been in an ongoing trademark dispute against the Bravo stars over the last year, due to their Reasonably Shady podcast.
In new court documents, the 51-year-old is thought to have opposed their request to appear in person for a deposition.
According to the paperwork, obtained by People Magazine, the musician – known as Slim Shady – claimed that it would be ‘unduly burdensome’ for him to be deposed himself as he has ‘limited knowledge of the subjects at issue’.
Instead, his legal team reportedly offered three other names, including his longtime manager, Paul Rosenberg, to appear in his absence as they have ‘superior knowledge to Mathers on the relevant topics’.
They have claimed that the documents filed by Bryant, 53, and Dixon, 44, was ‘premature and procedurally improper’ as they are ‘yet to serve’ Mathers, who owns the Slim Shady and Shady trademarks.
Robyn Dixon (L) and Gizelle Bryant filed to trademark Reasonably Shady this year (Picture: Getty)
His team, who first took legal action in February, are now said to be seeking a ‘protective order’ to preclude his deposition.
Andrea Evans, who is serving as lawyer for the RHOP stars, shared a statement about their deposition motion with the publication, which read: ‘It seems obvious to us that if you file a lawsuit, you should be made available to be deposed.
‘It’s unclear to us that Mathers can be the owner of the trademarks and file this suit against our clients but he will not make himself available to be deposed.’
She added that they wanted to question the Grammy-winner on his use of the expressions ‘Slim Shady and Shady.’
The legal battle began after the Housewives filed to trademark the name of their podcast Reasonably Shady – which they started in 2021 – as part of plans to sell merchandise linked to the show in February.
Mathers subsequently filed an opposition to their request, claiming his brand would be ‘damaged’, and that consumers could become confused over the separate brands.
Evans told PageSix at the time: ‘Robyn Dixon and Gizelle Bryant deny any likelihood of confusion between Mather’s trademarks and their Reasonably Shady mark.
‘We are prepared to defend any allegations against them regarding their intellectual property.’
Metro.co.uk has contacted reps for Mathers, Bryant and Dixon for a comment.
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The legal battle has been ongoing.