David Beckham is suing actor Mark Wahlberg after a fitness brand deal soured — leaving him $16.4 million (£8.5 million) out of pocket.
His firm, DB Ventures Ltd, is claiming the Hollywood star “duped” the England football legend into working with F45, reports The Sun.
Beckham, 48, agreed to be the firm’s global ambassador when he moved to LA, where he and Wahlberg, 52, became friends.
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He is also suing the actor’s firm, Mark Wahlberg Investment Group (MWIG), and gym group F45’s founders Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch.
He claims he lost more than $16.4 million when stocks he was promised were withheld until after share prices plummeted.
Wahlberg and his co-defendants claim the allegations of “fraudulent conduct” are baseless and have asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
Beckham featured in a number of since deleted social media posts promoting F45 in his role as an ambassador for them.
F45 was founded in Sydney’s Paddington where its first gym was opened by Adam Gilchrist (not the cricketer) and Deutsch in 2012, before expanding into the US in 2015.
In 2019, Wahlberg’s investment firm and another investor, FOD Capital bought a minority stake in the business.
Deutsch sold his stake for an estimated US$145 million (A$224 million) before the company listed on the NYSE in July 2021.
The defendants’ motion to dismiss goes further to say DBVL are blaming everyone but themselves, adding: “The 209-page, 610-paragraph SAC [complaint] tries to make up with length what it lacks in merit.
Initially, Beckham teamed up with golfing legend Greg Norman who also had a grievance against F45, but a judge would later tell the pair they had to sue separately.
The former Man Utd and Real Madrid ace lived in the same Beverly Hills neighbourhood as Wahlberg when he and Victoria moved to Los Angeles in 2007 and became close pals with the star.
This article originally appeared in The Sun and was reproduced with permission.