In 2008, Taco Bell faced a $4 million lawsuit from rapper 50 Cent.
50 Cent was not happy when Taco Bell suggested that he should change his stage name.
In 2008, Taco Bell introduced a new campaign, which some may argue was during the peak of the rapper's popularity with the song ‘Candy Shop'.
In May of that year, the well-known fast food chain introduced its value menu called ‘Why Pay More?'. The menu featured a range of items priced at 79¢, 89¢, and 99¢, which is significantly lower than what they charge now.
As part of their campaign, Taco Bell playfully proposed that 50 Cent (real name Curtis James Jackson III) consider changing his name to 79 Cent, 89 Cent, or 99 Cent.
The rapper was not happy about it and decided to sue Taco Bell for $4 million, claiming they used his name without permission in their campaign.
The legal case mentioned in The Guardian claimed that Taco Bell used Jackson's name, persona, and trademark without his permission to promote their business and products in a nationwide advertising campaign.
Taco Bell released it's ‘Why Pay More?' campaign in 2008. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Taco Bell's plan worked well as many customers thought that 50 Cent had agreed to promote their products. In fact, various internet ‘blogs' criticized 50 Cent for ‘selling out' by seemingly endorsing Taco Bell. The lawsuit went on to mention these points.
However, Taco Bell spokesperson Rob Poetsch stated after the lawsuit that they had made a sincere and generous proposal to 50 Cent. They offered him the opportunity to change his name to either 79, 89, or 99 Cent for a day and rap his order at Taco Bell. In return, they would have gladly donated $10,000 to a charity of his choosing.
The rapper won the lawsuit the next year, but the details of the settlement remained undisclosed.
50 Cent went on to file a $4 million lawsuit against Taco Bell. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images)
“At the time, 50 Cent's lawyer mentioned that, as is common in such situations, the parties have decided not to talk about the settlement, except to acknowledge that both sides are content.”
Both parties paid for their own legal fees as part of the deal.
John Cena is well aware of the fact that it's quite common for celebrities to get involved in legal disputes with big brands.
The WWE star faced a $500,000 lawsuit from Ford in 2017 for selling his new GT without permission.
A year later, they reached a settlement outside of court and Cena publicly apologized to Ford.
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