The Odd Future member has already been paid $212,500 to record a song called 'Pure Imagination' for a marketing campaign named 'The Scarecrow'.
- March 10, 2014
AceShowbiz -
Frank Ocean is being sued by Chipotle, The Hollywood Reporter says. The restaurant chain claims that the Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All member has backed out of a deal to record a song for its ad campaign.
According to a lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, March 7, Chipotle made a deal with Ocean via talent agency CAA to record a track called "Pure Imagination" for a marketing campaign named "The Scarecrow".
Ocean was told that the campaign was aimed to promote local and sustainably-sourced food, while warning of the dangers of industrial farming. He was then shown a rough draft of the ad which was 80|percent| complete and hadn't featured Chipotle logo yet. The rapper joined the project and was paid $212,500. He would receive another $212,500 after he finished the song.
However, after the August 7, 2013 deadline, Ocean said that he wouldn't participate in the campaign anymore. The 26-year-old entertainer's team later explained his decision in a statement sent to Chipotle.
"When Frank was asked to participate in this project, Chipotle's representatives told him that the thrust of the campaign was to promote responsible farming. There was no Chipotle reference or logo in the initial presentation, and Chipotle told Frank that was an intentional element of the campaign," read the statement.
Chipotle is suing Ocean for the $212,500 it paid him as well as additional damages to be determined at trial.
Ocean has seemingly responded to the news. He took to his Tumblr to simply post a link to the Wikipedia page for "defamation."
