January 6, 2023
Energy Drink Company Reportedly Cheated Flo Rida of Bonuses and Stock Options — He’s Now Suing
Rapper Flo Rida is reportedly suing energy drink company Celsius, alleging the brand excluded him from tens of thousands of dollars, in addition to stock options.
According to Insider, the “Low” artist sued Celsius in 2021 in Broward County, Florida, filing a claim that the company breached its 2014 contract.
Flo Rida’s legal team said their client was not granted bonuses and stock options promised to him during 2014 and 2016 endorsement deals even as the rapper helped the company advance toward financial success.
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“It was specifically contemplated that as Celsius profited in the future, additional compensation would be paid by Celsius in the form of shares of company stock and ongoing royalties,” the lawsuit said.
The lawsuit further alleges that the company held back from notifying Flo Rida of the prime sales goals he met in his 2014 and 2016 contracts.
Failure to do so has led the rapper to sue Celsius on breach of contract, accounting, and unjust enrichment counts.
“He’s entitled to 500,000 shares of stock via the contract, and entitled to 250,000 shares of stock if certain things happen — one of those yardsticks is that a certain number of units of products need to be sold, but unfortunately the contract doesn’t specify which type of unit — is it a box, is it a drink? And there’s no timeframe or deadline,” John Uustal, Flo Rida’s lawyer, said.
“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 added.
Reportedly, Flo Rida’s team is seeking at least $30,000 in damages.