Antonio Brown has an original signature phrase: business is boomin’. However, according to a Florida-based promoter, Brown’s business might be scamming. The owner of Secure The Bag Entertainment filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in Sarasota County Circuit Court, accusing Brown of a breach of contract and defamation from an “exclusive artist agreement” he allegedly signed in July.
STB owner Ryan Kane claims that Brown tried to finesse him in various ways, like submitting $178,000 worth of “fraudulent” expenses and selling Kane a luxury watch for $160,000 that he discovered was fake. The suit also alleges that Brown made a series of “lewd, racist, sexist and threatening remarks” towards the STB executives and more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6eKr94laXw
“Now I know how the Raiders felt when they paid him [at least $1 million], and he never played a single game for them,” Kane said to The New York Post. “I gave him … a huge advance and an opportunity to make money legitimately, and all he did was walk off the field.”
Kane, who began his company earlier this year, started hopeful with an impromptu relationship with Brown that quickly soured. Initially, Kane gave Brown a $150,000 advance to sign with STB. The first project was supposed to be to shoot a video to promote Brown’s song “Cracked” featuring Lil Wayne.
Kane alleges that Brown pressed that Lil Wayne only wanted “$250,000 in cash” directly from Brown, and Kane actually wrote Brown a $250,000 check. However, Kane alleges that Brown “threatened” him when he communicated that “the check better be good,” according to reports on the lawsuit.
However, Kane was informed by Lil Wayne’s reps that the rap artist only expected $150,000 for the music video appearance, which led Kane to realize that Brown allegedly tried to defraud STB out of a $100,000 balance. The lawsuit against Brown makes that assertion.
Then there was Rolling Loud. The music festival that launched Brown’s now athletic, culturally relevant song and dance “Put That Sh*t On,” also created more tension between Kane and Brown. In late July, when Brown returned to Florida after performing at the “Rolling Loud” hip-hop festival in Los Angeles, STB agreed to get him home in style on a private jet and cover some miscellaneous expenses.
Instead, Brown gave STB a false invoice soliciting more than $178,000 in reimbursement for “grossly overstated or completely fabricated,” expenses. The bill included an unauthorized Los Angeles recording studio rental of $87,000 for five hours. Another $8,500 for some of Brown’s entourage to fly in the private jet with him. STB refused to pay the bill, and Brown went to his favorite method of airing out problems, social media, allegedly making “defamatory statements on social media about STB writing bad checks and not paying their bills,” per the lawsuit.
Kane also filed against Brown in Broward County, Florida, alleging that in late July, Brown sold him a counterfeit Richard Mille watch for $160,000. Once Kane realized it and asked for his money back, he claimed that Brown blocked his number.
However, Kane feels he will have retribution as he claims he owns all the rights to Brown’s music.
“Everyone is saying his rap career is blossoming, but his rap career is dead,” Kane continued. “I own the rights to all his music. He can’t release any music for the rest of his life unless I approve it.”
Now, will Brown “put that sh*t on?”
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