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Flo Rida Awarded $82 Million in Lawsuit Against Energy Drink Maker
Flo Rida is $82 million richer.
The “Low” rapper scored a major victory in his lawsuit against energy drink maker Celsius. After a five-day trial, a Broward County jury awarded him $82 million in damages over a breach of contract from a 2014 endorsement deal.
Flo Rida filed the suit in 2021, claiming he was owed millions in stock and royalties in exchange for promoting the Celsius drinks for years. His lawyer argued that his promotion of the brand helped rescue “a tiny local company that was about to go out of business.”
Celsius’ lawyers claimed that Flo Rida was properly compensated with 250,000 shares of company stock and said he wasn’t owed any more money because the endorsement deal ended in 2018, NBC Miami reports.
In the end, the jury found that Celsius breached two contracts that should have given him 750,000 company shares, as well as royalties on sparkling orange drinks dating back to 2018.
“This was a long journey, but we prevailed. From the start I only wanted what I worked for, nothing more, nothing less,” Flo Rida said after the jury reached its verdict. “I gained a new respect for the judicial system, most importantly, and I just want to say God bless America.”
Flo Rida’s lawyers told Billboard that they believed arguments portraying their client as “greedy” didn’t play well with jurors.
“They understood all these complicated legal issues and, in our view, came to the right conclusion,” said John J. Uustal. “After our client finished testifying, there was no doubt that this was not a greedy individual.”