Beastie Boys have taken legal action against Brinker International, the company behind Chili’s Grill & Bar, for using their song “Sabotage” and their image in a commercial without permission.
The Beastie Boys claim in a New York federal court filing that Brinker created an ad featuring three characters in 70s-style wigs, mustaches, and sunglasses to mimic them and falsely suggest they support Chili’s. They also emphasized that they never allow their music or image to be used for product ads.
They want $150,000 in damages and for the commercials to be removed. The group previously won $1.7 million from Monster Beverage Corp in 2014 for similar reasons.
I think it’s important to respect artists’ rights.
It’s kind of funny how companies think they can get away with this stuff.
