been popularized by Helen Kane – "Don't Be Like That", "Is There Anything Wrong with That?"" and "Wa-da-da" – which writer Mark Langer says "was hardly proof that Helen Kane derived her singing style from Baby Esther". According to jazz historian Robert O'Meally, this evidence might have been fabricated by the Fleischers to discredit Kane, whom they later admitted was their model for Betty Boop. O'Meally also questioned if there was some sort of deal between Fleischer Studios and Bolton, and questioned if Esther was ever paid for her presumed loss of revenue. Judge Edward J. McGoldrick ruled that "the vocables 'boop-boop-a-doop' and similar sounds had been used by other performers prior to the plaintiff" and that "the plaintiff has failed to sustain either cause of action by proof of sufficient probative force." In his opinion, based on the totality of the evidence presented in the trial, the "baby" technique of singing did not originate with Kane. Legacy Baby Esther is most associated today with her connection with the Kane v. Fleischer lawsuit. The film of Jones has been credited with convincing the judge in the case that Helen Kane had copied Baby Esther. Film scholar Mark Langer disputes this interpretation, which he says has become "conventional wisdom". No confirmed recordings of Jones are known to exist. Misconceptions Baby Esther shares her original name and original stage name with Little Esther Phillips, who was also known as Esther Mae Jones. Both singers used the names "Little Esther" and "Li'l Esther", but Esther Phillips was of a later generation, born in 1935. Photos of the model Olya Gussy costumed as Betty Boop, taken by Russian-based studio Retro Atelier in 2008, are regularly misidentified as Esther Jones. An older photo often purported to show Jones went viral when it was distributed by the official Betty Boop Checks website. The image was actually a James Van Der Zee photo of an unidentified woman. Admission of mistake In 2021, a 2015 article by PBS, which had been used as "confirmation" of the "Baby Esther was the original Betty Boop" story by many people, was removed from the PBS website. PBS retracted the story, admitted that the "Baby Esther" portion of the article was never true, and apologized for spreading misinformation. See also List of African-American actors List of child actors References American child singers American jazz singers Year of death unknown Year of birth