David Beckham is suing Mark Wahlberg! Uh-oh!
The English soccer star’s DB Ventures company filed a lawsuit on Friday against F45 Training, which the actor owns more than 30% of, according to The Sun. In the filing, David claims the workout company “duped” him into signing an endorsement deal — only for them not to live up to their expensive end of the bargain!
Here’s the deal. Per the outlet, which obtained court docs, Victoria Beckham‘s husband agreed to be the brand’s global ambassador in August 2021. This all stems from Becks’ move to Los Angeles in 2007, after which point he and Mark had become pals — before both leaving the state.
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After appearing in several promo pics for the brand on social media (which have since been deleted), David claims he was never paid the $10 million (!!!) that he was promised. Damn!
Per their contract, he was allegedly supposed to receive the money via stocks in the fitness company, which were supposed to be given to him in early 2022. Unfortunately, F45 allegedly didn’t get the ball rolling on that payment until after the share prices plummeted — costing him all that money! Per the Telegraph, the price had gone from around $12 a share to $3 a share by the time the company got around to getting Beckham what he was owed. That’s a big difference! Oof.
The athlete is also suing Wahlberg’s investment firm, Mark Wahlberg Investment Group, and F45 founders Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch. And this isn’t his only time bringing up this issue! He originally went after the brand alongside former golfer Greg Norman in 2022, but a judge ordered them to separate their lawsuits.
According to Us Weekly, David’s company first filed a complaint in May 2023. Per Daily Mail, last year, DB Ventures sought $18.85 million in damages from F45. How’s that different from this new lawsuit? This time he’s seeking damages directly from the individuals involved!
Already, the F45 team is clapping back — indicating this could be the start of a VERY messy legal war! Denying the star’s claims, the defendants called the allegations of “fraudulent conduct” baseless. While asking a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, Wahlberg and his colleagues slammed the filing. They said via their lawyers:
“The 209-page, 610-paragraph SAC [complaint] tries to make up with length what it lacks in merit.”
Jeez!
According to TMZ, David’s not the only one to file a complaint like this, though. Back in 2017, football star Terrell Owens claimed the company hadn’t paid him $700,000. And while the brand was once on the rise, it reportedly lost over $370 million between 2021 and 2023, per the Sydney Morning Herald. So, a big and high-profile lawsuit like this is likely the last thing they want right now! Thoughts?! Let us know (below)!
[Image via F45 Training/The Overlap/YouTube & MEGA/WENN]
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