Beastie Boys sue restaurant chain
The US restaurant chain "Cili's" advertises with the Beastie Boys' song "Sabotage." The hip-hop band did not give permission for this and is now suing.
The Beastie Boys have sued the parent company of the US restaurant chain "Chili's," Brinker International, for unauthorized use of their hit "Sabotage" in a social media ad in 2022. The hip-hop band accused the company of using parts of the song without their permission and also using the official music video for the song. "Sabotage" was released in 1994 and became a huge hit. In the music video for the song, the three band members wear wigs, sunglasses, and fake mustaches as a parody of 70s crime shows and go on a criminal chase. The Texas-based company Brinker initially declined to comment on the matter when asked for a statement.
Explicitly prohibited advertising
The lawsuit was filed by surviving Beastie Boys members Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond, along with the executor of their deceased bandmate Adam Yauch's estate. In his will, Yauch explicitly forbade the use of his music for advertising.
Already in 2014, the Beastie Boys had won a copyright case against Monster Energy Drink manufacturer. The band accused the company of using one of their songs without permission and received 1.7 million dollars (approximately 1.6 million Euros) in damages.
After Yauch's death, the remaining band members announced they would no longer perform under the name Beastie Boys.
The 1990s hip-hop hit "Sabotage" by the Beastie Boys was famously used in unauthorized advertising by the US restaurant chain "Cili's," leading to an entertainment-related lawsuit in the 2020s. In the 1990s, when the song was originally released, it gained widespread popularity in the realm of Hip Hop music and entertainment.
