Megan Washington has just won a significant payout from Qantas, after claiming that the airline misused a video of her performing the song ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ at a corporate event last year.
In 2013, Washington sang the song at Qantas’s 90th anniversary celebration, and the airline went on to post video of the performance on its YouTube channel and website, as well as using it for in-flight entertainment presentations.
Washington, claiming that their use of the video was unauthorised and damaging to her reputation, and took legal action against the airline, suing them for the not insignificant sum of $500,000.
The Sydney Morning Herald report that yesterday, Qantas paid out an undisclosed amount. They said that the legal costs associated with the suit “far outweighed the value of the claim”, but maintain that they did not do anything wrong in their use of the video.
Megan Washington demonstrated that she is a formidable opponent after tearing Team Joel a new one at almost every opportunity during her tenure as a Voice mentor, so Qantas were probably fairly unwise to cross her in the first place.
Just calling it: if I ever get crazy mega famous I’m going to have like, eighty miniature dachshunds. Minimum.
— Megan Washington (@WASHINGTONx) July 9, 2014
The singer herself seems to have taken the whole thing in stride. She was last seen on Australian Story this week, winning hearts and minds and speaking about her ongoing-struggle with a stutter.
She will likely be releasing a new album in September. Don’t get on her bad side.
Photo: Chris Hyde via Getty Images
