Jimmy Fallon and several other celebrities are being sued for shilling expensive monkey photos

Jimmy Fallon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Justin Bieber, Madonna and other celebrities have spent the last few years trying to convince people that ugly pictures of monkeys are both a) beautiful and b) a profitable investment opportunity. allegedly hit. Specifically – and per head THR-several celebrities found themselves defendants in a new lawsuit this week, accusing at least some of them of failing to disclose their financial stake in a company that facilitated the purchase of Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, among other things. they promoted the brand publicly.

The lawsuit in question is being brought by two Monkey buyers who lost money on their purchases, Adonis Real and Adam Titcher, who hope to file a class action lawsuit against all involved. Their targets include BAYC’s parent company Yuga Labs, a number of famous promoters who endorse the brand (Paris Hilton, Diplo, Post Malone, Snoop Dogg, Stephen Curry, Kevin Hart, DJ Khaled and others are also called “Promoter Defenders”). , and well-known music industry executive Guy Oseary, through a company called Moonpay (in which many of the named celebrities are alleged to be investors), are accused of setting up shoddy payments to pay for their endorsements.

The lawsuit focuses on Oseary, the longtime manager of Madonna (as well as U2, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.), referred to in legal documents as “The Fifth Monkey.” (All are also defendants, along with the four founders of Yuga Labs.) Oseary is accused of using his considerable network of contacts — the lawsuit specifically calls for help in booking Fallon during his early days as U2’s host. The Tonight Show— Attracting celebrity investors and promoters to build the Bored Ape brand.

Jimmy Fallon buys his first NFT with MoonPay

Highlight November 2021 The Tonight Show interview with web artist Matt “Beeple” Winkelmann (a defendant who allegedly did business with Oseary and is also named in the lawsuit), the lawsuit accuses Fallon of getting paid to promote the brand while talking about getting his ugly monkey image through Moonpay. , wrote that “Fallon has not disclosed that he has a financial interest in MoonPay or that he has a direct or indirect financial interest in the increased sales and popularity of Yuga securities.” In exchange for their endorsements, celebrities are given details of a number of other transactions that appear to have been paid for in cryptocurrency or NFTs, the lawsuit alleges.

A Yuga Labs spokesperson responded to the lawsuit this week, calling the claims “Opportunistic and parasitic. We believe they are unworthy and look forward to proving as much as they can.” This is not the first celebrity focused NFT/crypto claim to emerge in recent months as the entire market continues to rest comfortably in the toilet. (Trading of Bored Ape NFTs fell 93 percent after release.) A number of paid promoters (including Larry David) were recently named as defendants in suit to promote cryptocurrency FTX.

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