One of the most bizarre moments in this year's Epic v. Apple trial was the interruption of proceedings by a dispute about whether Peely, a Fortnite character, should wear clothes in court. Apple suggested Peely should wear clothes in federal court. Epic disagreed and showed Peely in a tuxedo. You can be sure that the judges' decision, which was released today, is final.
The Court believed that Apple was dressing Peely in a tuxedo to represent the solemnity of federal court proceedings. The Court later agreed with Mr. Weissinger that Peely was just a banana-man and that additional attire was only informative.
On day six of the trial's proceedings, Apples attorney was questioning Matthew Weissinger (Epics VP of Marketing) to give a tutorial on Fortnite. Apples attorney pointed out that they had chosen to show Peely as Agent Peely because it was more convenient than showing the naked banana. We are currently in federal court.
This was obviously a joke. This was a lighthearted moment in an antitrust-focused court trial. Epic's attorney couldn't allow Apple to say that Epic's naked banana was inappropriate after Apple had criticized Epic for hosting Itch.io and its so-called adult gaming site.
Weissinger asked Weissinger two hour later, "If we could just put on to the screen a photo of Peely are there any inappropriate things about Peely without clothing?"
Weissinger was obliged to reply, "It's just a banana guy." (NB: Although we originally transcribed the exchange as "just a banana maam", the court transcription is final.
Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers's judgment in the end demonstrates what everyone knew at the time: Peelys was a banana man. Additional attire wasn't necessary.
The relevant section can be viewed on page 8 of the document. Epic and Apple have not publicly indicated whether they intend to appeal the judgment.
