My Chemical Romance Faces Legal Action Over Cheerleader Costumes

By Tom Whitfield

Pro Silver Star Ltd. has filed for both a temporary restraining order and an injunction against My Chemical Romance. It owns the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC) brand and alleges that dancers wore DCC uniforms at the Hollywood Bowl. The request targets the costumes, not the band’s music or wider production.

The dispute centers on the residency’s opening on Wednesday at the Los Angeles venue. According to the legal documents, My Chemical Romance modified its performance of “Teenagers.” Dancers in DCC outfits “armed themselves with rifles in a staged firefight, only to be depicted being shot,” the filing says.

What is Pro Silver Star seeking?

The company initially asked My Chemical Romance to stop what it called the infringing use of the DCC Uniform. Pro Silver Star’s account says the band refused. The company then pursued the temporary restraining order and injunction to prevent the band from using DCC costumes onstage.

The filing frames the demand narrowly. “Silver Star is not litigious, and it takes no issue with MCR’s music, its artistic ambitions, or any message Defendants seek to convey. Silver Star does not ask Defendants to change their setlist, narrative, politics, choreography, or even their decision to put gun-toting performers on stage,” Pro Silver Star wrote.

The company asks only that the performers stop wearing the DCC Uniform while staging the scene. Its filing argues that alternative costume designs are effectively unlimited. That is Silver Star’s position, not a reported court finding. The material gives no description of the garments and no account of the legal basis for the alleged infringement.

In practical terms, Silver Star has not challenged the band’s politics or decision to depict gunfire. It has challenged the use of the disputed clothes.

Why did Pro Silver Star object?

Pro Silver Star said audience members and online commentators believed the performers were the real Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. It said social-media posts making that identification continue to circulate. The company’s objection therefore combines a claim of audience confusion with the alleged infringement it sought to stop.

The report supplies no count of posts and no examples of the comments. That leaves the scale and duration of the confusion unquantified. The filing identifies the trigger as use of the DCC Uniform onstage.

Did the costumes disappear after the filing?

No clear answer appears in the available material. My Chemical Romance’s Hollywood Bowl run continued on Friday night, and video from the show showed Dallas Cowboys-esque cheerleaders back in their usual costumes despite the legal action.

The footage appears to show continued use of the disputed presentation. The material does not identify the dancers, describe alterations to the costumes, or report a ruling on the temporary restraining order or injunction. It quotes no direct response from My Chemical Romance.

What does this change for the Hollywood Bowl audience?

For now, the available material documents no change to the production. Friday’s video suggests the Cowboys-style staging remained, and the report says the band would also perform that night at the Hollywood Bowl.

The practical question is whether the costumes will remain after the court application. Silver Star’s position leaves the band’s narrative, politics, choreography and use of gun-toting performers outside its complaint. Its unresolved demand is narrower: keep the DCC Uniform off the performers who stage the gunfight. Until a ruling or concession is reported, the visual dispute remains unresolved.