Soccer icon David Beckham is suing actor Mark Wahlberg through their companies, alleging that Beckham lost millions due to poor business conduct by Wahlberg’s fitness studio brand.
Beckham’s DB Ventures Ltd. reportedly began its lawsuit against fitness chain F45 Training Holdings in 2022 — which is part-owned by Wahlberg — after Beckham was working as the company’s global ambassador.
Beckham alleged that he was misled when he began working with the company, according to the Independent, which eventually led to him losing £8.5 million, the equivalent to $10.5 million USD.
The alleged “fraudulent conduct” happened when Beckham was reportedly promised stocks but did not get them until months later after the price of shares tanked from around $12 to about $3.
In May 2023, Yahoo reported that the company had been notified by the NYSE that it was not complying with its listing standards. In August 2023, F45 Training Holdings announced it had delisted itself from the New York Stock Exchange after the 75% price drop, the Sun noted.
Wahlberg and his codefendants said that the allegations of fraudulent conduct were baseless, and they had asked a judge to dismiss the lawsuit.
The motion to dismiss reportedly claimed that the Beckham group blamed others for its mistakes and said the “209-page, 610-paragraph SAC [complaint] tries to make up with length what it lacks in merit.”
Beckham had originally teamed up with Australian golfer Greg Norman in 2022 to file a lawsuit worth $20 million for allegedly withheld payments, per the Daily Mail. However, a judge told the two that they needed to file separate lawsuits.
F45 has more than 2,000 studios worldwide, including 1,000 in the United States and around 500 in Australia, as well.
Wahlberg became a minority shareholder in the company in 2019 after he purchased a stake through the same investment group that Beckham is suing.
As for their friendship, the former English- and Spanish-league soccer player became friends with the Hollywood actor after moving to Beverly Hills, California, with his pop-star wife, Victoria, in 2007. Wahlberg, 52, and Beckham, 48, were neighbors when the soccer player made a shocking transfer to American sports league Major League Soccer.
Beckham had made numerous social media posts promoting F45 since becoming its global ambassador, but the posts appear to have since been deleted.
The company has described itself as a “life-changing gym” with “functional team training,” typically displaying group-training sessions with a high-end fitness studio vibe.
Current financial data has F45 stock at around 15 cents per share, which is actually the highest it has been seen August 2023.
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