Pro Silver Star, the parent company of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, has filed for a temporary restraining order against My Chemical Romance.
The legal move targets the rock band’s ongoing “The Black Parade” 20th anniversary tour, specifically their recent performances at Los Angeles’s Hollywood Bowl where dancers appeared in costumes nearly identical to the iconic cheerleading squad’s uniforms. The filing, submitted by celebrity attorney Alex Spiro, claims the lookalike outfits have already confused fans and threaten lasting damage to the DCC brand.
“Audience members and online commentators understandably believed that the performers were the real Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and said so in social media posts that continue to circulate,” Spiro’s team wrote in court documents. The filing included several examples of social media posts showing fans mistaking the performers for actual DCC members.
The legal complaint centers on the band’s performance of their hit “Teenagers,” during which the dancers carried what appeared to be rifles around the stage, “only to be depicted being shot.” Pro Silver Star argues this violent imagery, tied to their protected uniform design, creates an unacceptable association for the cheerleading brand they have spent decades building.
A cease-and-desist letter was sent to the band on October 22, according to the filing, but the legal team contends the continued use of the uniforms could cause “irreparable harm” to the reputation and goodwill surrounding the DCC brand. “Silver Star thus is left with no choice but to bring this action to protect itself,” the court documents state.
The company has been careful to distinguish its complaint from any broader criticism of the band’s artistic expression. The performance was “not litigious,” the filing notes, and Pro Silver Star takes “no issue with the band’s music, its artistic ambitions, or any message Defendants seek to convey.” The company added: “Silver Star asks only that those performers not wear the DCC Uniform while doing it. The universe of alternative costume designs is effectively unlimited.”
My Chemical Romance, fronted by Gerard Way, 47, launched the elaborate theatrical tour earlier this year, taking it across the UK, Europe and North America. The shows present the album in full within a fictional dystopian world, with Way and his bandmates performing in character-driven set pieces that have drawn both praise and, now, legal scrutiny.
The Hollywood Bowl performances that triggered the filing came as the tour nears its North American conclusion. The band is scheduled to play the venue twice over Halloween weekend before heading to Asia.
Way hinted at possible new music during a September exchange with fans, saying the band has always wanted to make another record, though no release date has been set. My Chemical Romance has not released original material since 2022.
The costume dispute marks an unusual collision between sports entertainment intellectual property and rock performance art, with Pro Silver Star moving to establish clear legal boundaries around one of the most recognizable uniforms in professional cheerleading.