David Beckham Is Suing Mark Wahlberg But They Still Follow Each Other On Instagram
An investigation...
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Whenever I’ve ever read a story about a CrossFit-adjacent business, it wasn’t by choice.
The latest development from F45 is one of those instances.
Yesterday, The New York Times reported that David Beckham is suing F45, a workout chain that is essentially CrossFit for people who like patriotic colors (Hello JP from Love Is Blind).
This story wouldn’t be interesting if that’s all there was. What piqued my interest is that F45 is co-owned by Mark Wahlberg.
According to court documents, Beckham’s lawyers allege that F45 used an endorsement deal with Beckham in 2020 to help grow the brand before its IPO.
When the company IPO’d in 2021, it had a valuation that was “nearly three times higher than it had two years earlier.” Ooop!
Beckham claims that F45 did not deliver on the “substantial cash and equity compensation” he was promised in their agreement.
When F45 began facing financial troubles in 2022, Beckham claims that the company withheld millions of dollars they were supposed to pay him…
According to the report, Beckham’s team alleges that F45 withheld transferring almost “one million shares of stock in a timely manner, and issue $5 million worth of additional shares.”
Beckham claims that by delaying the transfer of those initial shares it cost him $9.3 million as the stock price began to dip… Not! Great!
Here’s the thing: I went back and checked Beckham’s Instagram from 2020 and 2021, and it looks like he barely posted about the F45 deal.
Obviously, he may have it written into the agreement that he didn’t have to promote it on his social channels, but like…sort of odd, no?
The only thing I was able to find online is a screenshot of a since-deleted Instagram post Beckham shared in 2020 announcing the partnership:
To clarify, it does look like F45 also deleted their partnership announcement post, so do with that information what you will…
If I was F45, I would also be a little pissed that he didn’t post anything but did post about his son’s Saint Laurent campaign:
Anyways!
What does Marky Mark have to do with all of this?!
After purchasing a 36 percent stake in the business in 2019, Wahlberg is an F45 board member and regularly appears in fitspo content on their social media accounts.
F45 is even launching a #WahlbergWeek (whatever that is) and is promoting that on Instagram:
It appears that F45 DGAF about this lawsuit and will keep posting videos where Wahlberg is forcing me to attend a group fitness class in a giant room with American flag colors that I do not want to be a part of.
What are their *teams* saying?
According to The New York Times, the respective teams for Beckham and Wahlberg have yet to comment. However, lawyers for F45 did respond to Beckham’s claims, denying everything (of course).
They even got a little spicy by claiming that Beckham has not fully performed his obligations and is “attempting to benefit from his own wrongdoing and has unclean hands.”
Okay!
So are Beckham and Marky Mark speaking?
As of about five minutes ago, both Beckham and Wahlberg still follow each other on Instagram, so maybe this entire lawsuit isn’t that big of a deal?
Or they are just both so rich that they really don’t care?
Are they texting each other about this? Unclear!
Interestingly, Beckham doesn’t follow F45 on Instagram, but it’s unclear whether he followed them in the first place…I’m guessing he did.
The only person I feel like who will accidentally give us an update on the saga is Beckham’s wife, Victoria.
It’ll probably be some video of David in his underwear and she accidentally forgets to turn the sound off and he is talking s*** about F45 in the background to his agent.
Only time will tell…I’ll leave you with this…
What Paying Subscribers Got
Much like celebrity chef David Chang, Doc Rivers did one successful thing in the 2000s and has been bothering me with his presence ever since.
Yes—Momofuku and the 2008 Boston Celtics might be one of my more chaotic analogies, but stay with me.
As I’m sure you’re aware, Chang recently came under fire for sending cease-and-desist letters to companies using the terms “chili crunch” and “chile crunch.” He was hoping to trademark the phase “chile crunch” for his own product under his Momofuku banner.
A few weeks ago, Chang apologized on his podcast (of course he did) for the incident:
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to everyone in the AAPI community who’s been hurt or feels like I’ve marginalized them or put a ceiling on them by our actions,” Chang said. “There’s a lot of chefs that I’m friends with. There’s a lot of people that are upset, customers, and that’s the last thing — literally the last thing — that I wanted to happen.”
According to NBC News, Momofuku hopes to settle the disputes with the companies “amicably.”
The whole story is just nonsense.
Did I enjoy going to Momofuku Noodle Bar in 2012? Yes. Do I still love that stupid cereal milk soft serve at Milk Bar, but hated that it expanded to LA? Also yes.
It doesn’t make Chang’s legal Choice with a capital C to go after small businesses less annoying.
And you can DM me about that model Kookie collaboration…Anyways!
That entire story bothers me the same way Milwaukee Bucks head coach Doc Rivers bothers me.
Both—to their credit—had some genuinely important career milestones in the mid-2000s.
Chang opened Momofuku Noodle Bar to critical acclaim and hype in 2004, while Rivers, as the Celtics’ head coach, won the 2008 NBA Championship.
It’s been nearly 20 years since both of their respective career highs. Yet, Chang and Rivers appear to keep themselves relevant by repackaging and selling a diluted version of their original success to famous people, celebrity-adjacent peers, and industry-friendly friends.
Other Pointless Sports Gossip
WNBA star Kelsey Plum (the popcorn woman) is getting a divorce and it seems…a little messy. More on *that* another time! (via ABC News)
Kim Kardashian’s ex is getting his Heisman Trophy back! (via ESPN)
Not gossip, but Caitlin Clark just signed a multi-year deal with Nike. (via Front Office Sports)
Nikola Jokić’s brother punched a fan during a playoff game between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Lakers. Not! Great! (via TMZ Sports)
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I would observe Wahlbergweek like a religious holiday.