The ongoing Epic v. Apple legal battle nearly wrapped up this week in a loss for both parties. Well, it depends who you ask — Epic painted it as a loss and announced plans to appeal, while Apple declared it a win without acknowledging the concessions imposed on it by the court.
One party definitely did win, however: Peely.
Peely is a recurring Fortnite character, a banana, and also the central figure in perhaps the weirdest moment of the trial. The Verge reflected on the Peely incident after Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers handed down her ruling on the lawsuit. The incident started as a joke about whether it was appropriate for Peely to appear naked in court.
Gonzalez Rogers officially noted in the ruling that “the Court agrees, Peely is ‘just a banana man,’ additional attire was not necessary but informative.”
Peely’s entrance into the trial came on day six, when Apple’s attorney cross-examined Epic’s VP of marketing, Matthew Weissinger, to learn more about how Fortnite worked. During the examination, Apple’s attorney noted that they chose to show Peely in his ‘Agent Peely‘ attire (above) since “We thought it better to go with the suit than the naked banana, since we are in federal court this morning.”
Although very clearly a joke — a fact reinforced by Gonzalez Rogers’ ruling — Epic doubled down on the banana after Apple criticized the company for hosting ‘Itch.io,’ a storefront with “so-called adult games.”
Epic’s attorney asked Weissinger about Peely, requesting a picture of Peely be put on screen.
“Is there anything inappropriate about Peely without clothes?” the attorney asked, to which Weissinger responded:
“It’s just a banana man.”
And so there you have it. A federal judge has officially ruled that a banana can appear naked in court, a win for Peely and his cohort. Perhaps, also, a loss for the rest of us, depending on your views on bananas.
Image credits: Anna Sullivan (Unsplash), Fortnite Wiki
Source: The Verge