Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders take legal action against My Chemical Romance

Pro Silver Star Ltd., the company that owns the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders brand, filed for a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction against My Chemical Romance on Friday. The filing targets a staged sequence from the band's Hollywood Bowl run in which dancers wearing uniforms resembling the squad's took part in a simulated shootout.

The bit played out Wednesday during a full performance of The Black Parade, which just turned 20. The dancers came out during "Teenagers" for a cheer routine, and on the following song, "Disenchanted," armed soldiers from the fictional Draag regime that runs through the anniversary tour's storyline aimed guns at the band. The cheerleaders fired back, and characters on both sides went down amid gunshot sounds. During the chaos, Gerard Way stabbed a government clerk character named "Veronika" behind the drum riser.

The petition argues that pairing the instantly recognizable uniforms with a violent scene could tarnish the cheerleaders' image and lead audiences to think the real squad took part in or endorsed the performance. It includes screenshots of social media posts from people who believed the dancers were the actual Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

According to the filing, a cease-and-desist letter was sent to the band on Thursday, but the group did not comply. The second Hollywood Bowl show went ahead the next night, and the gunfire skit was performed again. The episode also reached at least one current member of the squad, Kylie Dickson, who posted about the show in apparent confusion. The paperwork was filed the same day the cheerleaders unionized.