Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Drop Uniform Lawsuit Against My Chemical Romance

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders have formally dismissed their lawsuit against the rock band My Chemical Romance. The dismissals were filed on Monday, Nov. 2, in a Texas federal court, according to Rolling Stone.

The case centred on the band's Hollywood Bowl concerts, the finale of a dystopian rock opera that marked the 20th anniversary of the album The Black Parade. The cheerleaders said knockoff blue-and-white uniforms were worn without permission during a mock gun battle onstage. They argued that the costumes infringed protected "trade dress", meaning the overall look that tells customers where a product comes from.

Their parent company, Pro Silver Star, filed its own suit on Oct. 23 over trademark rights. It asked for unspecified profits and damages, a permanent injunction (a court order to stop the conduct for good), and a trial. Before that, the cheerleaders' lawyers had sent a cease-and-desist letter on Oct. 22, and they later sought an emergency restraining order ahead of shows scheduled for Oct. 30 and 31, KTLA reported.

The promoter Live Nation, which organised the shows, has pushed back hard. In a Monday filing, it said neither it nor the band agreed to stop wearing the uniforms, and neither conceded infringement. It described the costume use as satirical parody and artistic expression protected by the First Amendment, the part of the US Constitution covering free speech. Live Nation also said it was the only defendant formally served, and its lawyers said My Chemical Romance was never served at all.

Live Nation further said the cheerleaders and Pro Silver Star had been told more than a week before the suit was filed that the costumes were already retired and would never be used again.

Band manager Brian Schechter filed a sworn declaration, a written statement made under oath, on Oct. 29. He said the Finale was planned from the start to be performed only on Oct. 21, 23 and 24, 2026. Those decisions, he said, were made nearly a year before he learned on Oct. 22 that the cheerleaders objected. The Finale ended on Oct. 24 as scheduled, and the final two Hollywood Bowl shows were always normal tour dates without the elaborate stage show, so the uniforms would not have appeared, he stated, as Billboard reported.

The cheerleaders' lead counsel, Alex Spiro, answered the band's account in short terms. He said "Sure they were" and "They waved the white flag." The cheerleaders had also alleged that fans and social media users believed the real Cowboys Cheerleaders were on stage.

Earlier, TMZ reported on Oct. 27, citing anonymous sources, that the band had "folded" and the cheerleaders had "won big".

For readers following the story, the dismissal closes one thread, but the positions on both sides now sit in court papers. The band and Live Nation say the costumes are retired and protected expression. The cheerleaders' side made its claims in filings and in its statements to the press.