Jimmy Fallon, Madonna and Snoop Dogg among celebs sued for endorsing Bored Ape NFTs

share on

twitter /
facebook /
linkedin /
- email
- telegram
- whatsapp
- wechat
- pinterest
- line
- snapchat
- reddit

Hollywood stars Jimmy Fallon, Snoop Dogg, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Justin Bieber are among the list of celebrities who have been sued for promoting Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs of fraud in a proposed class action. According to the lawsuit seen by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, there are about 30 celebrities being sued including Stephen Curry, Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian, Serena Williams, and Paris Hilton.

The lawsuit alleged that the celebrities deceived their fans into purchasing Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs as well as other unregistered securities provided by Yuga Labs, the parent company of NFT series Bored Ape Yacht Club, to increase its value. This has caused consumers to acquire “losing investments at drastically inflated prices", The Hollywood Reporter said.

The lawsuit claimed that these endorsements may be unlawful if they do not disclose the nature, source, and amount of any compensation paid, directly or indirectly, by the company in exchange for the endorsement. It also explained that this case highlight these concerns as it involves a large scheme between Yuga Labs, a highly-connected Hollywood talent agent named Guy Oseary, and a front operation known as Moonpay, which all united for the purpose of promoting and selling a suite of digital assets,” the lawsuit further claimed.

According to the lawsuit, Oseary and Yuga's executives hatched a plan to use their wide network of A-list musicians, athletes, and celebrity clients and associates to "misleadingly promote and sell" the Yuga Financial Products. The lawsuit is demanded approximately US$5 million on behalf of the plaintiffs and the putative class of ‘all others similarly situated, Variety said.

Quoting a Yuga Labs spokesperson, Variety reported that the claims in the lawsuit are "opportunistic and parasitic" and without merit. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to Yuga Labs for comment. Meanwhile, Snoop Dogg's son, Cordell Broadus, also has a Bored Ape NFT named Champ Medici but he is not one of the individuals being sued.

Celebrities have come under fire recently for promoting digital assets. More recently, Kim Kardashian was charged by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for touting on social media a crypto asset security offered and sold by EthereumMax without disclosing the payment she received for the promotion.

As a result, Kardashian will pay US$1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest, and cooperate with the Commission’s ongoing investigation. She also agreed to not promote any crypto asset securities for three years. American boxer Floyd Mayweather, who endorsed EthereumMax in his boxing match, was also sued in January over claims that he mislead investors.

Just last week, however, a federal judge dismissed the crypto scam lawsuit against Kardashian and Mayweather. According to CNBC, judge Michael Fitzgerald recognised that the lawsuit's claims highlighted legitimate concerns about the ability of celebrities to "readily persuade millions of undiscerning followers to buy snake oil with unprecedented ease and reach".

However, the law also imposes limits on advertisers and expects investors to "act reasonably" before betting on the trends of the moment. Fitzgerald also found the plantiff's allegations to be insufficiently backed, CNBC reported.

share on