Giuliani has described the lawsuit as "absurd" while
claiming that the use of his likeness is protected by free speech. He has filed a
motion to have it dismissed based on a California statute that prevent lawsuits threatening free speech.
While speaking to Erik Kane of
Forbes.com; Giuliani has stated,
“It’s no different between a video game, a book, and a movie and [Noriega's lawsuit] would open up video games, movies, and books to all kinds of people suing if they were unhappy or if they wanted to make money."
In
Call of Duty: Black Ops II;
Noriega appears as a minor villain who betrays the games hero to help Raul Menendez escape by faking his death. Later in the game, the player is tasked with hunting and capturing him during Operation Just Cause.
As reported by
Digital Journal back in July, the former dictator of Panama filed a lawsuit against Activsion for using his name and likeness without his consent while depicting him as a, "kidnapper, murderer and enemy of the state."
Call of Duty: Black Ops II is the ninth game in the series and was released on November 13, 2012 for the PC, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The game focus on a father and son in the special forces as they hunt a terrorist starting from the Cold War circa 1980s up until the near future.
