David Beckham suing Mark Wahlberg over deal with actor's fitness brand that left him $10.5M out of pocket
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: David Beckham has reportedly brought a lawsuit against Mark Wahlberg after a deal that saw the former football player promote the Hollywood star's fitness brand turned sour, leaving the football ace approximately $10.5 million (£8.5 million) out of pocket.
Beckham is suing the actor and his business partners after his association with F45—which saw him promote his own line of tailored exercises—went awry due to disagreements over shares he claimed to have been given, per Daily Mail.
Mark Wahlberg and his co-defendants say David Beckham's accusations of 'fraudulent conduct' are unfounded
According to Beckham's company, DB Ventures Ltd (DBVL), the Hollywood actor "duped" the legendary England football player into collaborating with F45.
Beckham and Wahlberg became friends following the football player's family's 2007 move to Los Angeles to join the Major League Soccer team LA Galaxy.
In November 2020, he subsequently consented to serve as the global spokesperson for the Australian company F45, whose fitness centers feature glossy photos of him exercising with branded equipment.
Beckham claims to have lost approximately $10.5 million because the promised stocks were held back until the share prices plunged, as per The Sun.
The football ace is also suing the founders of the gym club F45, Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch, as well as the actor's company, Mark Wahlberg Investment Group (MWIG).
DBVL claimed that as part of the agreement, shares of the company were pledged and that they were not disclosed until months later, by which time the share price had fallen from about $12 to $3 per share.
As part of the agreement, he also posted several images to Instagram that promoted F45 to his millions of followers, which have since been deleted.
Wahlberg and his co-defendants have requested that the judge dismiss the lawsuit on the grounds that the accusations of "fraudulent conduct" are unfounded.
The defendant's motion went on to argue, "The 209-page, 610-paragraph SAC [complaint] tries to make up with length what it lacks in merit," claiming that DBVL is blaming everyone but themselves.
Notably, the US share price of F45 has never recouped its initial $16 price. In 2019, Wahlberg acquired a position in F45 through his investment business, making him a minority shareholder.
According to the most recent market statistics, F45's shares are currently only worth 15 cents. Franchise closures have affected the company in several countries, including Australia, the US, the UK, and Ireland.
David Beckham previously sued F45 for $34.7 million in 2022
Beckham and golf star Greg Norman filed complaints against F45 in October 2022 in Californian courts. A judge reportedly ordered them to file separate lawsuits, which is why the issue has been dragged out for several years.
According to documents from 2022, David Beckham Ventures Ltd (DBVL) had previously requested damages from F45 totaling as much as $18.85 million (£15.2 million).
After a promotional deal reportedly failed to shell out "substantial cash and equity compensation," the retired football player and the professional golfer filed a lawsuit against F45, as per Daily Mail.
The two asserted that the fitness business had failed to pay them millions of dollars despite its contractual commitments, while Beckham maintained that the agreement with him had "enhanced its public profile and credibility and helped roll out new fitness offerings for F45."
After investing in F45 when it "led an investment round that reportedly valued the company at approximately US$634 million," Beckham saw his money decline and a few years later it was only worth a "fraction of the value" he had initially invested in.
According to the documents, the football ace's share value was approximately $1.97 million by September 2022, a "mere fraction of the value [Beckham] would have received had F45 timely complied with its contractual obligations."
The share's initial value was estimated to be around $11.33 million in January 2022.
However, the new lawsuit reportedly demands damages directly from Rob Deutsch and Adam Gilchrist, the founders of F45, as well as Wahlberg's Mark Wahlberg Investment Group.
