Why Is David Beckham Suing Mark Wahlberg’s Company? What to Know

David Beckham And Mark Wahlberg They have found themselves on opposite sides of a legal battle.

Beckham’s company DB Ventures filed a lawsuit In May 2023 against the fitness franchise F45 Training, which Wahlberg partially owns. The football star claims in court documents obtained by TMZ that he was “tricked” into signing an endorsement deal with the company and never received his $10 million. Introduced in contract negotiations.

Beckham previously sued former golfer over F45 training greg norman in late 2022, but a judge ordered the two athletes to separate their lawsuits.

Keep scrolling to learn everything you need to know about Beckham and Wahlberg’s legal beef:

What is F45?

According to Company Website, F45 Training is “a global fitness and lifestyle community” that offers “functional training and HIIT” workouts as well as nutritional guidance. Although founded in Australia in 2011, F45 is based in Austin, Texas, and has over 2,000 studios in over 60 countries.

What is Mark Wahlberg’s connection to F45?

According to the lawsuit, Wahlberg acquired a 36 percent stake in F45 through his investment group in 2019. ​​He was named chief brand officer of the F45 in 2023 and regularly appears in the company’s promotional material.

Why is David Beckham suing the F45?

Beckham, who signed a five-year deal with F45 in 2020, claims in the lawsuit that he never received the $10 million he was offered when negotiating the contract. He argued that he upheld his end of the partnership, thereby “escalating”. [F45’s] public profile and credibility and helped introduce new fitness offerings for the F45, while the company failed to follow through on an agreement to compensate him with stock.

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“As F45’s business began to falter in 2022 due to fiscal mismanagement and macroeconomic pressures, F45 blocked millions of dollars under contract,” the filing reads.

According to the lawsuit, Beckham was promised “approximately 1 million shares of stock” from F45 within six months of the company going public. However, he claimed he received the shares eight months late because their value had dropped by $9.3 million. Beckham’s legal team also alleged that additional shares worth $5 million were never delivered.

What harm is David Beckham seeking?

Beckham is demanding $14.3 million in damages, not including interest.

What was F45’s reaction to the lawsuit?

F45 filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit, but a judge denied the request in September 2023, Fox News informed of. According to the new York TimesF45 filed a response denying many of Beckham’s allegations and claiming that Beckham did not fully fulfill his obligations.

The response accused Beckham of “attempting to profit from his wrongdoing” and said the athlete had “unclean hands.”

How are David Beckham and Mark Wahlberg related?

Beckham announced his partnership with F45 in a 2021 statement, saying that Wahlberg had introduced him to the company.

“I have been a fan of the F45 franchise and training model since I was introduced to it by my friend Mark Wahlberg,” the statement said. “This partnership is an exciting business venture for me as well, and I look forward to the journey with F45 as the business continues to expand globally.”

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After David and his wife were introduced, Victoria BeckhamBought a house in Beverly Hills in 2007. Although they later became friends, during an interview in 2009 Wahlberg took issue with the extra attention Beckham brought to his neighborhood. daily Mail,

“Dude, Beckham. It used to be very quiet on my street,” the actor had said at the time. “Then David starts living with his family. Suddenly we started having paparazzi roaming around day and night.

Wahlberg said he’s “not sure why he’s doing it.” [David] First to come to America” ​​and joked, “We don’t want your football.” He later clarified. Sun That he had no personal relationship with David.

“I met him and some of his sons and he seemed like a nice guy. …I wanted to make sure he didn’t take that [Daily Mail comment] Personally,” Wahlberg said.

Is there rift between David Beckham and Mark Wahlberg?

However legal expert and attorney David is not suing Wahlberg directly but F45 nema rahmaniwhich is not connected with the case, specifically stated us weekly The lawsuit in April 2024 still indicates bad blood between the two.

“Mark owns more than 30 percent, [so] “Going after the company is essentially going after Marc,” Rahmani said, adding that a legal victory for Beckham would “really hurt” Wahlberg’s “pocketbook.”

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Rahmani said that celebrities “hate to be dragged into litigation”, so it is “surprising” that the dispute has gone this far.

He said, “The fact that it got to this point leads me to believe that negotiations failed and things got worse between these former friends.”

What have Mark Wahlberg and David Beckham said about the lawsuit?

Neither Wahlberg nor Beckham have publicly addressed the lawsuit. We Their legal teams have been contacted for comment.

Is David Beckham’s lawsuit against the F45 going to trial?

The court date has been set, and the trial is scheduled for January 25, 2025. Rahmani told We He believes that the matter will be settled before the hearing.

“I can’t imagine Beckham vs. Wahlberg in court. Obviously stranger things have happened, but in my experience when we’re just talking about money and this type of business dispute, at some point the parties will engage in some type of mediation,” he said. “I hope Wahlberg gives Beckham some kind of payment to make this go away.”