Evel Knievel is suing Kanye West, taking issue with a video for his song "Touch the Sky," in which the rapper takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" and jumps a motorcycle over a canyon.

Evel Knievel is suing Kanye West, taking issue with a video for his song "Touch the Sky," in which the rapper takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" and jumps a motorcycle over a canyon.



Knievel, whose real name is Robert Craig Knievel, filed a lawsuit in federal court yesterday (Dec. 11) in Tampa, Fla., claiming infringement on his trademark name and likeness. He also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damage his reputation.



"That video that Kanye West put out is the most worthless piece of crap I've ever seen in my life, and he uses my image to catapult himself on the public," the 68-year-old daredevil said today.



West, 28, couldn't immediately be reached for comment. The lawsuit asks for damages and seeks to halt distribution of the video.



In the clip, West dons the familiar Knievel star-studded jumpsuit and jumps a canyon in a vehicle "visually indistinguishable" from the Skycycle that Knievel used when he attempted to jump Idaho's Snake River Canyon in 1974, the lawsuit said.





Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.