A handful of celebrities have been named in a class-action lawsuit against Yuga Labs and Bored Ape Yacht Club – mentioning that the founders of the all-time top NFT collection engaged with celebrities to fraud potential investors. They claimed that through these celebrities’ backings, the NFTs were artificially inflated in price.
Quick Take:
- Adonis Real and Adam Titcher have opened a class-action lawsuit against Yuga Labs, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and a handful of A-list celebrities.
- Some of the included stars are Kevin Hart, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Steph Curry, and more.
- A Yuga Labs spokesperson believes that these claims without merit, and “look forward to proving as much” (via Variety)
About the Allegations and Lawsuit
Filed on December 8 was a class-action lawsuit against various Yuga Labs partners, including Guy Oseary and a number of A-List celebrities. Among the 37 defendants are Kevin Hart, Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Justin Bieber, Serena Williams, Jimmy Fallon, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, The Weeknd, Post Malone and NBA star Steph Curry.
Added to this list is Beeple, the most successful NFT artist of all time. Variety claim that this is for his appearance on Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show. The pair discussed the collection and MoonPay on November, 11, 2021. Here, Fallon deemed the latter as “the PayPal of crypto”.
All of these celebs have owned, or do still own, a Bored Ape Yacht Club NFT. Many of them have been public about it, posting on social media about ‘aping’ into the collection. According to the complaint by Adonis Real and Adam Titcher, by promoting the BAYC NFTs, these famous faces have caused for them to rise to “artificially inflated prices”. Also, it alleges that those involved never disclosed any financial compensation.
They are seeking monetary damages of at least $5 million on behalf of the plaintiffs, represented by Scott & Scott, and others in ‘similar situations’.
Also involved in this alleged “scheme” is MoonPay, says the pair. MoonPay allowed for some of the defendants to purchase their NFTs through their service.
The time period stated in this case is between April 24, 2021, and now. Titcher purchased a Mutant Ape and an Otherdeed for the Bored Ape metaverse Otherside, and Real purchased ApeCoin tokens, according to the case.
The Response
A spokesperson from Yuga Labs told Variety: “In our view, these claims are opportunistic and parasitic. We strongly believe that they are without merit, and look forward to proving as much.”
Beyond this, the Twitter community have shared their responses to the situation. Kevin Wu, a popular name in the NFT space, said: “Extremely ridiculous. Take responsibility for your own actions people.”
