Flo Rida has won a payout of millions after successfully suing an energy drinks company for violating an endorsement deal.
Celsius Holdings was found by a Florida jury to have breached the terms of its contract with the rapper.
Flo Rida served as a brand ambassador for Celsius between 2014 and 2018, and the lawsuit alleged that a vaguely worded contract prevented him from being adequately paid for his contribution in furthering Celsius’ brand awareness and business success.
The rapper said: “Basically, I helped birth this company, and all we was looking for was some trustworthy people who acted as if they were family … then when it comes down to the success of today, they just forgot about me.”
His production company Strong Arm Productions then sued Celsius in May 2021, saying that he was prevented from receiving previously agreed bonuses and perks and a one per cent ownership stake.
This week, he was awarded $82.6m (£67m) by the Broward County Court, but his lawyer John Uustal said he would be willing to accept the percentage stake instead of the payout.
“He loved the product, and it’s been a very successful four-year relationship,” Uustal said. “There were some benchmarks. He was supposed to get stock when certain things happened. And there became a dispute about whether those benchmarks had been reached. So that’s what this was about.”
Despite the lawsuit, Flo Rida said he would still like to work with the company again in the future. “I’m still an owner in the company and when you basically planted the seed for something that is successful, you can’t help but have unconditional love,” he said.
During the court case, Flo Rida made headlines when he appeared in court and played his own music as he took to the witness stand. Taking to the stand last week (January 11), Dillard’s lawyers played a selection of his own catalogue including ‘My House’, ‘Low’, ‘Good Feeling’, ‘Whistle’ and ‘GDFR (Going Down For Real)’, with the Miami News Times reporting that Dillard “inaudibly rapped and sang along”.
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