Dozens of celebrities, including Justin Bieber and The Weeknd, have been accused of “misleadingly” promoting Bored Ape NFT’s in an alleged scam that lost investors money. A lawsuit filed Thursday claims that Bored Ape’s parent company Yuga Labs engaged in a “scheme” to artificially inflate the value of NFTs by “discreetly” paying celebrities to promote them. The lawsuit zeroes in on an alleged partnership between Yuga Labs and Guy Oseary, an influential member of the music industry who manages Madonna and U2, among others, accusing them of using their influence to “leverage their vast network of A-list musicians, athletes, and celebrity client” to promote the NFTs. The lawsuit joins a growing backlash against celebrity endorsements of crypto, with celebrities involved in FTX and Ethereum, including Kim Kardashian and Larry David, facing similar lawsuits. Kardashian was dismissed from the Ethereum case by a federal judge Wednesday, presenting a possible legal hurdle for the fresh lawsuits against Bieber and others.
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