Mike D and Ad-Rock of the Beastie Boys have written an open letter to toy company GoldieBlox who have, bizarrely, apparently sued the band after parodying their 1987 single 'Girls' in a recent advert.

Over the weekend it was reported that the surviving members of the band had accused the company of copyright infringement, but now the band have revealed that it was in fact GoldieBlox who decided to involve lawyers, after the group approached them to ask why they had not asked permission to use the song. The letter reads:

Like many of the millions of people who have seen your toy commercial "GoldieBlox, Rube Goldberg & the Beastie Boys," we were very impressed by the creativity and the message behind your ad. We strongly support empowering young girls, breaking down gender stereotypes and igniting a passion for technology and engineering. As creative as it is, make no mistake, your video is an advertisement that is designed to sell a product, and long ago, we made a conscious decision not to permit our music and/or name to be used in product ads. When we tried to simply ask how and why our song "Girls" had been used in your ad without our permission, YOU sued US.
Ad-Rock went on to write on Twitter: "You guys..Don't get it twisted. We did not threaten to sue Goldiblox..THEY'RE SUING US." Radiohead's Thom Yorke has stepped to the band's defence, adding: "I support the beasties here> I would be v upset too.!...".

The advert takes the misogynistic lyrics of the original track and replaces them with empowered lines about females taking part in science and engineering industries. In legal documents the company states of the advert: "GoldieBlox created its parody video with specific goals to make fun of the Beastie Boys song, and to further the company's goal to break down gender stereotypes and to encourage young girls to engage in activities that challenge their intellect, particularly in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. The GoldieBlox 'Girls' Parody Video has gone viral on the Internet, and has been recognized by the press and the public as a parody and criticism of the original song."