Verne Troyer, who played the character in two "Austin Powers" films filed a federal lawsuit Thursday against the gossip Web site TMZ.com and others for showing snippets of a private sex tape he made with his girlfriend
Ranae Shrider.
Troyer, 30, is seeking more than $20 million in damages, according to the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
In court papers, Troyer claims TMZ and Kevin Blatt, the man who distributed the "One Night in Paris" sex tape of socialite Paris Hilton, of violation of privacy, copyright infringement, trademark infringement, violation of right to publicity and misappropriation of name and likeness.
The tape was made within the last year and shows Troyer and his girlfriend engaged in a series of sex acts, according to court papers.
Troyer learned Wednesday that portions of the tape were shown on TMZ's Web site and television show. His "cease and desist" letters to TMZ were ignored, according to the lawsuit.
TMZ has also reported that Blatt "is entertaining a $100,000 offer from SugarDVD to distribute" the video, the lawsuit said. SugarDVD, an adult video distributor, is another defendant named in Troyer's lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks $20 million in damages, unspecified attorneys' fees as well as an injunction barring the defendants from displaying the video.