California rap artist Calvin Broadus Jr., better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, filed a lawsuit on Monday against Pabst Brewing Company. The suit alleges that Pabst failed to follow through on a promotional contract in place with Snoop.
The contract at issue was a three-year agreement that was signed in 2011, by which Snoop Dogg would endorse Colt 45, a malt beverage produced by PBC. The lawsuit further alleges that the contract contained a clause whereby Snoop would receive 10 percent of the net sales revenue generated by Colt 45 in the event that PBC’s Colt 45 operations were sold before January 2016.
PBC was sold in late 2014 to Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, LLC, a partnership between TSG Consumer Partners and American Beer Entrepreneur Eugene Kashper. PBC’s new owners issued a comment in response to the issue, stating
“Pabst Brewing Company has been under new ownership and new management since November 2014 … We have not been contacted by Snoop Dogg or his representatives about this issue. We are investigating the matter and would be happy to talk to Snoop or his representatives to try to get to the bottom of this.”