Swizz Beatz and Timbaland have filed a $28 million lawsuit against Triller over alleged missing payments in their Verzuz acquisition.
The producers sold their competition platform in exchange for a “sum in the mid-eight figures,” per The Hollywood Reporter, and shareholding rights for them and their team members. They are now alleging that payments have been backed up since January 2022.
According to the suit, the producers were supposed to receive “the first [payment] at closing, another shortly after, and two more on the first and second anniversaries of the deal,” which was to earn them each $9 million by March 17, 2022, and an additional $500,000 every month for a 10-month period.
But, “Defendants have failed and refused to make any payment to [Swizz Beatz and Timbaland] of the past due sums due and owing,” the suit read, according to the Washington Post.
Triller has since denied the allegations.
“This is truly unfortunate and we hope it is nothing more than a misunderstanding driven by lawyers. We do not wish to air our dirty laundry in the press, but we have paid Swizz and Tim millions in cash and in stock,” a Triller rep said, per TMZ.
“No one has benefited as much from Triller to date,” the rep continued. “Triller has helped fuel VERZUZ to new heights – making it the global cultural phenomenon it is today. We hope to resolve this amicably and quickly, and truly hope it’s just a misunderstanding. If we are forced to defend it, we are more than optimistic the truth and facts are on our side.”
Copyright © 2022, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.