In the digital world, NFTs are one-of-a-kind assets that may be purchased and traded similarly to any other asset or property, but they lack a physical form. The digitized tokens can be viewed as property documents for tangible or digital commodities.
Using NFTs, a digital certificate of rights for the artwork may be "tokenized" and trade.
A record of who owns what is kept on a shared ledger known as the blockchain, much like with cryptocurrency.
The ledger is handled by hundreds of computers located all across the world, making it impossible to counterfeit the information.
Additionally, NFTs may include smart contracts that, for instance, grant the artist a share of any future token sales.
Celebrities Getting Sued for Promoting Bored Ape NFTs
Things went awry during the NFT mania in early 2022. Celebrities started appearing on late-night talk shows to advertise the innovative images that people paid several hundred thousand dollars for. The times were quite odd.
When starlet Paris Hilton came on Jimmy Fallon's late-night talk show, the duo talked extensively about the benefits of their incredibly pricey Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs.
The scene was strange, to say the least. And as a result, both of them are listed in a class-action lawsuit among hundreds of famous people who advertised BAYC NFTs. The victims are demanding several million dollars in compensation.
The lawsuit claims that at the peak of the NFT craze, these celebrities were gaining monetary benefits from promoting the NFTs. This tactic kept pushing its prices, hence turning it into one of the most elusive and popular NFTs
Trusting Celebrity Crypto Endorsements
Celebrity endorsements were never a problem in the early days of cryptocurrency. Celebrity bitcoin marketing, meanwhile, has grown notorious as cryptocurrency boomed—and crashed—with stars from all spheres of fame seeking to get you to buy cryptocurrencies.
A notorious endorsement for the FTX exchange includes former WTA Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka, former NBA star Steph Curry, and former NFL star Tom Brady. Untold amounts of investor money were lost when the FTX exchange failed in November 2022, and it was that same exchange.
Floyd Mayweather, Kim Kardashian, Matt Damon, Mike Tyson, Nick Carter, and Reese Witherspoon are among the more well-known crypto spokespeople. Some of these individuals have previously been cited in various lawsuits pertaining to excessive cryptocurrency and NFT advertising.
Which Celebrities Does the Lawsuit Name?
The list is extensive. If you’re looking for all the names, the court documents are up to be viewed. However, we will note that the list includes the likes of DJ Khaled, Justin Bieber, Kevin Hart, Paris Hilton, Serena Williams, and Snoop Dogg, with lots more.