Rapper Flo Rida awarded $82.6 million after winning lawsuit against energy drink company Celsius
Flo Rida was awarded $82.6 million after winning a lawsuit against energy drink company Celsius.
The rapper has sued Celsius Holdings Inc. for a violation of contract in May 2021.
"I only wanted what I worked for, nothing more, nothing less," he said.
Rapper Flo Rida has been awarded $82.6 million after winning a lawsuit against energy drink company Celsius.
Flo Rida, whose real name is Tramar Dillard, and his production company, Strong Arm Productions, sued Celsius Holdings Inc. in May 2021, claiming that the company had violated the conditions of an endorsement deal that ran between 2014 and 2018.
On Wednesday, a South Florida jury found Celsius guilty of breaching the deal. The jury also found that the brand had fraudulently hidden information from Dillard.
According to NBC News, Dillard said in a statement that he had gained a "new respect for the judicial system" as a result of the ruling.
"This was a long journey, but we prevailed. From the start, I only wanted what I worked for, nothing more, nothing less," he said.
In a separate statement, Flo Rida's attorney John Uustal said: "We said we'd trust the jury to do the right thing, we'd trust the verdict, accept the decision of the jury. I'm glad, in this case, the jury concluded that Flo Rida should get what he worked for."
According to the civil complaint, Dillard played an "instrumental part" in "launching a new era for the company's brand development, growth, and expansion" and helped introduce Celsius to "millions around the world."
Dillard's legal team claimed that he was not compensated in the form of promised bonuses and stock options for his work.
Dillard's team also claimed that Celsius failed to notify Dillard when key sales goals in his contracts were met.
In 2014, Celsius traded for $1 per share but now trades at over $100. Uustal said Dillard wanted the 1% ownership he was promised.
"In Flo's mind this was always a Vitamin Water type of deal, he was signing on to 1% of the company of a multi-million dollar endorsement deal and was hardly getting paid anything for it," Uustal told Insider earlier this month.
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