Lil Baby’s hemp business has taken legal action against a partner company for weakening brand value, misleading advertising, and misuse of trademarks. The lawsuit has been filed by The Holding Co., which controls his brand name and related rights.
The lawsuit claims that the partner, Bay Smokes, sent out cannabis products that were not safe and were illegal as well. Because of this, the company says Dominique Armani Jones, who goes by his stage name Lil Baby, had his name and image harmed, and people might now see him in a bad way.
According to a statement written in the lawsuit and reported by Billboard:
“[Defendants] associated plaintiff’s marks with unauthorized illegal cannabis sales, concealed sales, contaminated products and unlawful conduct, thereby creating a harmful and negative association with plaintiff’s brands”
The lawsuit also reportedly says Bay Smokes misrepresented ownership of Jones’s trademarks.
Bay Smokes is owned by a couple, William and Katiana, whose aim is to make cannabis products widely available while staying within federal laws, as per their About page. The company sells THCA-based flowers, seeds, gummies, and other products, including WHAM by Lil Baby.
The products in WHAM start from $30 and go up to $40 on their website. This partnership reportedly started three years ago in 2021. WHAM is also the title of Lil Baby’s fourth studio album, released last year.
Lil Baby’s company sues Bay Smokes
According to the lawsuit as obtained by Billboard, the companies agreed on specific terms for the partnership, which included selling the hemp products with very low THC levels so they stay under the federal limits when shipped across the country.
However, according to The Holding Co., which manages the rights to the WHAM brand linked with Dominique Armani Jones, the partner company was allegedly using products with much higher THC levels than what was agreed upon and also contained yeast, mold, and E. coli, as reported by Billboard.
The products, while they break the partnership terms due to the higher amount used, also make it unsafe to use them due to the germs and microbes found in them.
Speaking of his collaboration with Lil Baby, William said in an interview with No Jumper released last year:
“It was a really big collab for sure. What it took to make that happen is, like I said, like I feel like I’m good just in relationships with people. And like, in this process of everything we’re doing with rappers, it’s like, “Ok, I kind of have an open bid out.” Like, hey, any rapper with the following, like, I will give you money to promote my brand, and you know, eventually it’s like, “Ok, I want to buy it from Lil Baby.”
He added that at that time, WHAM was also already established and wasn’t available for sale. Later, the two started a partnership with Bay Smokes deciding to finance and sell it nationally.
As of now, Bay Smokes has not released any official statement about the same. Additionally, its website is still listing products linked to Dominique Armani Jones. As per the lawsuit, since the bad quality is damaging the rapper’s image, the company is now asking for financial compensation.
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Edited by Vatsala Chauhan