- 8 hours ago
Turns out fame doesn't guarantee a clean legal record! Join us as we look at the most infamous celebrity-created products and services that spiraled into eye-watering lawsuits worth a fortune. Which celebrity legal disaster shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below!
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Transcript
00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks from the most infamous times
00:04when celebrity-created and endorsed products and services caused massive controversy,
00:09leading to eye-watering lawsuits with a fortune.
00:11Brian Ross has reported the students, who paid a $35,000 fee,
00:16claimed they were falsely told Mr. Trump had personally selected the faculty.
00:21Number 10, Jessica Alba's The Honest Company.
00:25And we're here at the headquarters of The Honest Company,
00:27which makes non-toxic, eco-friendly products for family and home.
00:31It's an idea Jessica Alba had, and it just got evaluated at close to a billion dollars.
00:36Founded by Alba, Christopher Gavigan, and Brian Lee,
00:39The Honest Company built its empire on non-toxic living,
00:43but the legal fallout was anything but clean.
00:45Before Wall Street ever got involved,
00:47the brand faced multiple class actions over allegedly misleading natural claims and products,
00:52like its sunscreen and cleaning supplies.
00:54The lawsuit alleging that the popular home and personal care products company
00:58deceptively marketed cleaning products including dish soap and laundry detergent,
01:03falsely advertising them as honestly free of sodium lauryl sulfate, or SLS.
01:09Then came the big one, a securities class action accusing Honest of overselling its IPO prospects
01:15and downplaying supply chain issues.
01:17Jessica is battling two lawsuits, which claim her products don't deliver as advertised.
01:21Mediation replaced a courtroom showdown, and by early 2025, the company, its underwriters,
01:27and Catterton agreed to a $27.5 million settlement, all while denying wrongdoing.
01:32It was a costly reminder that even the most wholesome branding can come with a brutal legal sting.
01:37Jessica certainly looks good taking care of business.
01:40Number 9.
01:41Selena Gomez's Wondermind Global
01:43Selena Gomez and her mom today are facing accusations of fraud.
01:47Gomez launched Wondermind Global in 2021 as a mental fitness startup, yet by 2026,
01:53investors claimed the feel-good mission had collapsed behind the scenes.
01:56Multiple filings accused Gomez, her mother Mandy Teefy, and co-founder Daniela Pearson
02:02of misrepresenting Wondermind's infrastructure, partnerships, and growth plans,
02:07alleging that the company promised a mobile app, major advertising deals,
02:11and high-profile collaborations that never existed.
02:13They say they thought they would be getting a lot more out of it, like an app, a podcast,
02:18and a suite of wellness products, and that Selena Gomez would be front and center,
02:22bringing in her big fan base.
02:24But investors say none of that happened.
02:26Investors said they poured $1.2 million into the venture based on assurances Gomez would lead
02:32marketing, only for her to allegedly step back once funding was secured.
02:36Gomez's lawyers called the fraud allegations absurd and meritless,
02:40insisting she was only a minority shareholder and consultant.
02:42He tells E.T. the lawsuit is completely meritless, both factually and legally.
02:48We will vigorously defend these false allegations,
02:50and indeed are filing a motion to dismiss the baseless claims against her.
02:55Number 8. The George Foreman Grill.
02:57My George Foreman Grills, America's favorite grilling machines,
03:00are number one on everyone's list.
03:03Moms want them, dads want them, grandmas want them, even college kids.
03:07It's great for the whole family.
03:09This kitchen appliance legend quickly became a cultural phenomenon,
03:12reportedly earning the former boxer more money than during his fighting days.
03:16Learn to sell.
03:17And I realized if I could sell myself to being the heavyweight champ of the world,
03:21I can sell anything if it's trustworthy.
03:24And that's what I'm most happy about.
03:26And I am a natural salesman.
03:28That's what I do.
03:29Salesperson galore. That's me.
03:30Yet, its manufacturer found itself in a legal fight worthy of a foreman heavyweight title bout.
03:35In 2002, attorneys general from 43 states accused Salton Inc. of running an illegal price-fixing scheme,
03:42allegedly strong-arming retailers into keeping Foreman Grill prices high,
03:47and even suspending stores that dared to discount rival cookers,
03:50or place them beside the champ's signature grill.
03:53The multi-state antitrust case ended with an $8.2 million settlement,
03:57forcing Salton to abandon the tactics entirely.
04:00Foreman himself wasn't implicated,
04:01but the fallout showed that even the most iconic infomercial product
04:04could get dragged into a bruising legal battle.
04:07Let's make it, let's make it.
04:08No, it isn't.
04:09It's a grill.
04:10Grittle.
04:10Omnit.
04:11Calm down, guys.
04:12You know what's not like a brutal heavyweight fight,
04:14and more like engaging non-stop fun?
04:16The WatchMojo 24-7 livestream, of course.
04:19All you have to do is scan the QR code on screen,
04:21and begin your championship run of pop culture content.
04:24Because you've never told anybody what the actual number is,
04:26and it's a big question.
04:29The point of it is, if you know how much money you earn,
04:32you haven't earned much.
04:33Number 7.
04:34The Jessica Simpson Collection.
04:36Your fashion line has been going for 20 years.
04:38Your fashion empire.
04:40And I got my Jessica's shoes on, baby.
04:42Oh, yes.
04:43So do I.
04:43You can't tell me nothing.
04:45Simpson's fashion line may have become a billion-dollar powerhouse,
04:49yet its early years had a legal meltdown
04:51that nearly destroyed it before it got fully underway.
04:54In 2006, Taryn Apparel Group sued Simpson for $100 million,
04:59claiming she breached a major licensing deal
05:01by failing to promote the Jessica Simpson,
05:03Princey, and JS by Jessica Brands.
05:06Court filings said she was contractually required to wear,
05:09display, and actively support the clothes,
05:11yet allegedly favored other labels
05:13and skipped promotional duties despite millions already paid out.
05:17Simpson's team called the allegations absolutely untrue.
05:20After a year of litigation,
05:21the case quietly ended when both sides settled in 2007,
05:25with Taryn giving up the license entirely.
05:27Many celebrities launch clothing lines,
05:29but few are as successful as Jessica Simpson.
05:31Her Jessica Simpson collection is a billion-dollar empire.
05:36Number 6.
05:3750 Cent's SMS Audio
05:44This electronics company from Curtis, 50 Cent Jackson,
05:47was born out of a partnership gone bad.
05:50In 2010, he teamed up with Sleek Audio to create Sleek by 50,
05:54but when the venture collapsed, he launched MSS instead,
05:57triggering a brutal legal fight.
05:59SMS Audio is an extension of my passion for music.
06:02You know, it's a high-end audio brand,
06:04and the actual new headsets, you know,
06:06this was the right place to present it and premiere the new product.
06:11Sleek sued, accusing him of misappropriating trade secrets
06:14and using their designs and confidential plans
06:17to build his competing headphone line.
06:19In 2014, a judge agreed,
06:21slamming Jackson with a $16 million judgment.
06:23The blow later sparked a second battle,
06:26with Jackson suing his own law firm,
06:28Garvey Schubert Bearer, for bad advice.
06:30In 2016, Jackson secured a $14.5 million settlement,
06:34which went far toward easing his financial woes.
06:37It's my passion for music that leads me into this actual category.
06:41Number 5.
06:42Macy's and JCPenney's Fight for Martha Stewart's Living On The Media
06:45Martha Stewart, the dwayon of all things domestic,
06:49was in court again today,
06:50where two huge department stores, Macy's and JCPenney's,
06:55are slugging it out about who has the right to sell her products.
06:59The battle over Martha Stewart's Living Omnimedia
07:01became one of retail's most drawn-out legal slugfests.
07:05Macy's first sued JCPenney in 2012,
07:07accusing the rival chain of undermining its exclusive 2006 contract
07:11to sell Martha Stewart branded home goods.
07:13This is a big deal for Martha Stewart.
07:16We're talking big dollars,
07:17and we're also talking about her reputation.
07:21The fight escalated when JCPenney struck a 2011 deal with Stewart
07:24as part of Ron Johnson's ill-fated overhaul,
07:27prompting Macy's to also file a breach of contract suit
07:30against Stewart's company.
07:31The contracts here are deliciously absurd.
07:34This trial involves allegations of ruthless,
07:36sharp-elbowed business deals
07:38over such products as linens,
07:40stationery, curtains, and kitchenware.
07:42That case ended in 2014,
07:44when Macy's and Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia quietly settled.
07:48The larger feud, however, continued.
07:50In 2014, a judge who ruled JCPenney violated Macy's exclusivity,
07:55and by 2016, the retailer owed $3.5 million.
07:59A final settlement in 2017 closed the book on the bitter retail turf war.
08:03I think people used to think that Martha was nice,
08:07and I think they've gotten over that.
08:09She's somebody whose style authority they trust,
08:12whose aesthetics they admire.
08:14That, I think, is the retail appeal of her.
08:16Number four, Dr. Dre's Beats Electronics.
08:19$3 billion acquisition, a string of lawsuits,
08:23and a new product promising to change the way we listen to music.
08:26Dr. Dre's Beats Electronics, with its iconic headphones,
08:30completely changed the market once it hit shelves.
08:33Yet it wasn't all roses and sunshine for the company.
08:35In 2014, Dre and co-founder Jimmy Iovine were sued by Stephen Lamar,
08:40who claimed he originated the Beats headphones concept and licensing model.
08:44That's Steve Lamar.
08:45He says he took the idea to Jimmy Iovine.
08:48Dr. Dre signed on, and the crew began building, until…
08:52Jimmy and Dre and I had a disagreement about how to run the business going forward,
08:57and so we separated.
09:00Lamar argued he was owed royalties on every generation of Beats,
09:03not just the first,
09:05and sought tens of millions in damages.
09:07Beats insisted he'd already been paid for his limited role,
09:10but the fight escalated all the way to trial.
09:13In 2018, a jury awarded Lamar $25 million,
09:17ruling that later Beats models still used his underlying designs.
09:20Now Lamar is promising even better sound.
09:23This go-around, he wants to create world-class earbuds.
09:27Number 5.
09:28Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop Jade Egg.
09:30Gwyneth Paltrow's wellness empire, Goop,
09:32found itself in hot water over its now infamous Jade Egg,
09:35a product marketed with claims that it could, among several claims,
09:39balance hormones and regulate menstrual cycles.
09:42Two are vaginal eggs that were promoted as a way to balance hormones,
09:46regulate menstrual cycles, and increase bladder control.
09:49If that sounds too good to be true, well…
09:52In 2018, California prosecutors said those promises weren't just pseudoscience,
09:56they were illegal.
09:58The Santa Clara County District Attorney charged Goop with making unsubstantiated medical claims,
10:02and the company agreed to a $145,000 settlement.
10:06Goop called the dispute an honest disagreement.
10:09It says it provides a forum for users to present their views on the products,
10:13but the law sometimes views statements like this as advertising claims.
10:18Regulators said there was no scientific evidence the egg did anything
10:21beyond posing potential health risks.
10:23A lot of people might do the things that you suggest,
10:26and so you can do a lot of harm by falsely advertising that something is a medical cure.
10:33Goop didn't admit wrongdoing,
10:34but the case definitely left a messy mark on the company and Paltrow's image.
10:38No one has ever said anything bad about me before.
10:42Number two, Kanye West's Yeezy.
10:44We have a team of incredible designers.
10:48We'll take the entire design team to Japan,
10:50we'll take the entire design team to zone and talk about where we'd like to take these ideas.
10:58In 2021, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office sued Yeezy Apparel
11:03for unlawful business conduct,
11:05accusing the company of false advertising
11:07and routinely missing California's legally required shipping deadlines.
11:10The case ended with a $950,000 settlement,
11:14closing four years of alleged violations.
11:16Then came the corporate fallout after Adidas cut ties with West
11:19and his fashion brand in 2022 over his anti-Semitic remarks.
11:24His talent agency has dropped him.
11:25A documentary about him has been shelved in this morning.
11:27His biggest corporate sponsor, Adidas, terminated their partnership.
11:30Shareholders claimed Adidas had hidden years of misconduct
11:33and misled investors about the risks of partnering with him.
11:36So they filed a suit against the brand.
11:39Shareholders accused Adidas of ignoring the artist's anti-Semitic
11:43and controversial behavior for years.
11:45They also accused the company of failing to limit negative financial issues
11:50if the partnership ended.
11:51In 2025, the Ninth Circuit rejected the appeal,
11:55ruling Adidas did not deceive shareholders.
11:57The breakup left Adidas with over 1 billion euros in unsold Yeezy stock,
12:01a costly coda to the brand's collapse.
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12:14Are you not entertained?
12:16Number one, Donald Trump's Trump University.
12:19We have this breaking news just into CNN.
12:22President-elect Trump just agreed to settle a lawsuit for $25 million.
12:27Launched in 2005 as a real estate training program
12:30promising insider knowledge from Trump himself,
12:32This venture quickly drew complaints from students
12:35who said they paid thousands of dollars for high-pressure sales pitches,
12:39unqualified instructors, and seminars that didn't deliver.
12:42Students who paid a $35,000 fee
12:44claimed they were falsely told Mr. Trump had personally selected the faculty.
12:49These are all people that are hand-picked by me.
12:52Multiple lawsuits followed, including a major class action
12:55and a case from New York's attorney general alleging deceptive practices.
12:59He took my self-respect and he embarrassed me.
13:02In 2016, Trump agreed to a $25 million settlement without admitting wrongdoing.
13:07As an elect, had filed appeal after appeal
13:10insisting that he did not defraud people who attended Trump U.
13:13But now, again just minutes ago, at a press release,
13:16the attorney general announced the president-elect had agreed to $25 million settlement
13:22for the more than 6,000 victims.
13:24A lone objector tried to opt out and sue separately,
13:27delaying payouts until an appeals court rejected their challenge.
13:30In 2018, the settlement was finalized,
13:33allowing former students to recover up to 90% of what they spent,
13:36closing the book on the defunct program's legal saga.
13:39Are there any other celebrity products that led to massive lawsuits
13:42that we missed from the video?
13:43Let us know below.
13:44I know.
13:46I won't be right back.
13:47So good on.
13:47.
13:47.
13:52.