Platinum-selling rapper and South Florida native Flo Rida is suing energy-drink maker Celsius in a Broward County courtroom Tuesday for millions in profits he claims to have earned in an endorsement deal.
The 43-year-old Miami native, whose real name is Tramar Dillard, is scheduled to be in court as part of the lawsuit with his Hialeah-based company Strong Arm Productions USA, Inc. His attorney, John Uustal, said there’s around $75 million at stake.
The suit claims there was a breach of contract from the 2014 endorsement deal, saying the rapper signed the deal to serve to "globally market and promote all aspects of the Celsius brand."
The rapper said Celsius asked him to be an ambassador and he was in it “for the long haul,” and then during the pandemic, he checked his deals.
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“I got a chance to really sit back and check out all my business. And this one in particular, I checked it out,” the rapper told CNBC. “They were telling me that, you know, one of the products that I was endorsing, I wasn't selling. And then I got a chance to really look at it now, and I was doing more than well.”
He says his endorsement played a big role in the company’s success, especially when it first got started and each share was sold for less than a dollar. Shares are now sometimes around $100.
In the complaint filed back in May of 2021, Flo Rida’s team claims that even the top managers at the brand had recognized that his being involved in the brand “accelerated the introduction of the Celsius brand to millions around the world.”
Flo Rida is seeking damages exceeding $30,000, exclusive of interest, attorney's fees and costs.
The brand sent a statement to CNBC, saying it enjoyed working with the rapper years ago and it wishes him the best, but they are disappointed that he’s involved in this litigation.
Flo Rida also believes, when people see Celsius, they automatically think of his brand.
“This product has done over tens and tens of millions of dollars since I joined the company,” he told CNBC. “I'm talking about the likes of Doja Cat. You know, she's doing interviews you’ll catch her saying, 'This is Flo’s drink'"
The rapper is known for several songs that reached No. 1 in the Billboard charts during his career, including "Low" and "Right Round."
