The singer, who serves as Chief Flavor Officer for the firm, claims he doesn't know what is in the drinks he promotes.
- Jun 27, 2018
AceShowbiz - Justin Timberlake has requested the dismissal of a lawsuit that was launched against him for promoting a drinks brand that has allegedly deceived customers.
In May, the "Rock Your Body" hitmaker was named as a defendant in Kevin Branca's class action lawsuit against against Bai Brands, its founder Ben Weiss, its parent company Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, and Dr. Pepper president Larry Young. In the complaint, the California-based man said the company's beverages were falsely labelled as containing only natural ingredients when they actually contain undisclosed artificial flavours.
Timberlake, who serves as Chief Flavor Officer for the firm, which he has reportedly invested in, was accused of having "knowingly entered" into agreements to commit fraud and "other lawful acts" by deceiving consumers about the drinks contents.
The star has now taken steps to have the entire lawsuit dismissed, claiming he doesn't know what is in the drinks he promotes, according to court documents obtained by The Blast. He states there is no evidence to prove he was involved in the design, manufacturing or distribution process of the drinks and the plaintiff would not be able to prove he had this inside knowledge.
He added that he was simply a celebrity spokesperson and not part of the company so cannot be held liable for damages.
The singer and actor appeared in a 2017 Super Bowl commercial for the brand's range of fruity healthy drinks alongside Christopher Walken, and Branca accused the singer of promoting the company's all-natural claims to "millions of consumers".
Addressing the advert in his legal documents, Timberlake alleges that they weren't being "false or deceptive" and that no statements about the ingredients or natural flavours were made in the clip.
Weiss founded Bai in 2009 and signed up Timberlake to the spokesman role in 2016. The firm was sold to Dr. Pepper Snapple for $1.7 billion (£1.25 billion) the following year.
