![]() Yuga Labs sued Ripps not for defamation, but for trademark infringement. He sold his versions as RR/BAYC with an accompanying website that detailed claims the Bored Apes contained references to racist memes on 4chan, a troll website. Ethan Miller/Getty Imagesīored Apes were already a craze - with many sports and entertainment stars using them for social media profile pics and more - when Ripps copied them last year. ![]() Snoop Dogg performs with his Bored Ape character, Dr. “Being able to own and control the whole IP and not be used as a face or marketing tool or, you know, someone as an ambassador, but to actually be the owner, the CEO,” he replied when asked why he got into crypto. He told CNBC in an interview published in June last year that his interest in crypto focused on the intellectual property rights (IP) that came with it. The rapper’s representatives did not respond to requests for comment on this story. ![]() Further, Snoop - along with several other celebrities and crypto firms - is facing a class action lawsuit filed in December that alleges he was part of a scheme to artificially inflate the price of Bored Apes with inauthentic celebrity hype. In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged eight celebrities for not disclosing they were paid to promote cryptocurrencies. Representatives for MTV did not respond to CNN’s questions about Snoop’s compensation for the appearance.Ĭelebrity-paid promos were part of the success of the broader crypto industry too, as revealed in the fallout from the collapse of FTX in November. The rapper did not disclose the payment in conjunction with his performance. Court documents filed by Ripps’ lawyers claim Snoop was paid “around $1 million” to perform as a Bored Ape at the MTV Video Music Awards in 2022. But Ripps’ team says Snoop’s love of the apes was not genuine, but bought and paid for by Yuga Labs - and federal regulations require celebs to disclose paid endorsements. Snoop - not a plaintiff or defendant in the case - was one of the most famous and vocal owners of an ape. The Bored Apes became some of the most famous NFTs after a series of celebrities said they got one. Ripps is a fight over trademarks, but legal filings in the case are pulling back the curtain on the year of mania around the Bored Ape Yacht Club collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) of cartoon apes. ![]() The question of whether Snoop Dogg deeply and sincerely liked some cartoon apes has become key in a federal lawsuit between the crypto empire Yuga Labs and the trollish artist Ryder Ripps. ![]()
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