Paris Hilton and Jimmy Fallon are facing a proposed class action lawsuit following their alleged paid promotion and undisclosed purchase of Bored Ape NFTs.
According to PC Gamer, the two are part of the long list of celebrities and personalities getting sued by investors, along with the creator of the popular NFT collection.
Investors Claim That The Celebs Misleadingly Promoted Yuga Labs' NFTs
The class action lawsuit was filed on Thursday in the District Court for the District of California by investors who were affected by the purchase of Yuga NFTs.
In addition to this, the said investors were also impacted by the celebrities' acquisition of its digital currency ApeCoin, which is why they are suing for more than $5 million.
Yuga allegedly lured celebrities to make promotions appear organic and unpaid and misrepresented the growth prospects, financial ownership, and benefits for investors.
According to the lawsuit, the promotion was misleading since the company presents itself as a brand that is organically loved by famous personalities, Yahoo Life writes.
However, the truth is that the Bored Ape ecosystem and its business model rely on secret marketing and promotional activities from A-listers that are paid quite a price.
This is done to encourage investors that the digital assets are justifiable, given exclusive access to additional financial products and benefits as well.
The lawsuit also alleges that all the Bored Ape actions in 2022 were a huge scheme between Yuga Labs and a high-profile Hollywood agent named Guy Oseary.
Together with MoonPay, Oseary reportedly acts as the bridge between celebs and Yuga Labs, from where they can buy NFTs without a covert way to compensate promoters and without telling investors.
"We strongly believe that they are without merit and look forward to proving as much," a Yuga Labs spokesperson says, adding that the claims are opportunistic and parasitic.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, aside from Hilton and Fallon, other personalities involved in the lawsuit include Madonna, Justin Bieber, Gwyneth Paltrow, Snoop Dogg, Post Malone, and Stephen Curry.
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Bored Ape NFT Investors Are Also Suing Adidas
Adidas is also facing a lawsuit from the investors of the famous NFT collection, as they claim that the sportswear company was an agent for Yuga.
Adidas has a capital investment in the company and has authorization for solicitation on behalf of Yuga securities to the public, and in December, it released its first NFT collaboration with Bored Ape.
However, the sportswear brand declined to give any comment or statement regarding the lawsuit, according to Yahoo Life.
NFT promotions helped increase the interest in the price of the NFTS, which caused investors to buy assets at drastically inflated prices.
In October, Kim Kardashian was also slammed for a similar legal issue by the Securities and Exchange Commission after posting about a crypto asset without saying that she had been paid to do so.
Because of this, the socialite turned businesswoman was ordered to pay a $1.26 million fine for penalties, disgorgement, and interest in settling the charges.
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