Ice Cube is suing Robinhood for using his image in one of their recent newsletters. According to documents obtained by Bloomberg Law, the rapper and actor wasted no time in filing a suit against the mobile stock market app for making use of a still photo from his Are We Done Yet? film in of its daily Robinhood Snacks newsletters.
The newsletter, sent on March 8th, was titled “Why are tech stocks falling?,” and featured a caption referencing Cube’s “Check yo Self” cut with the caption reading, “Correct yourself, before you wreck yourself.”
“This blatant theft of Ice Cube’s image and likeness to endorse Robinhood’s dangerous products and services has resulted in substantial damage to Ice Cube,” reads the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
It adds: “Just as Robinhood’s recent well-known conduct has resulted in Congressional investigations and numerous class action lawsuits, so too has it stolen and diminished the hard-earned image and brand of Ice Cube, one of the most prominent Black voices in America.”
A representative for the brand spoke with TMZ, denying that the image was illegally obtained.
“No, we didn’t use his image without permission,” the rep said. “The image was licensed and used for non-commercial, editorial purposes in connection with a blog article.”
