Why the 'Some Girls' Cover Got Sued (and Settled) – Rolling Stones

The original 1978 cover of Some Girls was a die-cut sleeve with a flap that let you swap the faces of the Stones onto the bodies of famous women—Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Marilyn Monroe, and others. None of those celebrities had given permission. Ball sued for $1.2 million, claiming the cover made her look like a prostitute. The band didn’t fight it long.

They settled out of court, agreeing to destroy the original sleeve and replace it with a simpler design (the band’s faces on a plain background with “Some Girls” text). They also paid an undisclosed amount, and all future pressings used the revised cover. The flap concept was scrapped, though some original copies survive as collector’s items.