Local News in Brief : Little Egypt Wants Wrestler Renamed

Little Egypt, the self-professed queen of belly dancing, filed suit Friday in federal court in Los Angeles to stop the “humiliation” heaped on her by a female wrestler who uses the same name.

Lorraine Egypt, who legally changed her name to Little Egypt, described herself in the lawsuit as “the world’s foremost belly dancer, entertainer and belly dance instructor.” She said her name is a registered trademark and cannot be used commercially by anyone else.

The offending party, she said in her U.S. District Court lawsuit, is a woman who “snakes her way” into the wrestling ring clad in the veils and harem pants of traditional belly dancers and calls herself Little Egypt.

The belly dancer, who has used the name Little Egypt since 1959, did not name the wrestler as a defendant in her lawsuit. Instead, she targeted eight men who produce or promote the character through an organization called GLOW, or Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling.