Oprah Winfrey does not play about her name and likeness. The billionaire media mogul is suing a weight loss company for using her image without her consent.
Newly filed court documents reveal the lawsuit Harpo Inc. and OW Licensing Company filed against a company called Emblaze One and its executives Jaspreet Mather and Kenneth Haller, Radar Online reports. In the suit, filed with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Emblaze One has been using Winfrey’s name to sell weight loss and CBD gummies advertising its products with the slogan, “Online Pills Shop Oprah Winfrey CBD Gummies Amazon!”
Winfrey’s legal team argues that the OWN Network owner is “fiercely protective of her name, image and brand.”
“Her reputation depends, in part, on the quality of the products and services she recommends, which she does only after careful consideration and vetting, through [her companies].”
Noting how famous Winfrey is, her legal team notes how the media mogul is recognized globally by just her first name.
“Simply being associated with Ms. Winfrey and/or the OPRAH brand has in many cases, led to an exponential increase in a product’s sales,” the suit states.
The lawsuit argues that Emblaze One has been profiting by tricking Oprah’s fans into purchasing their weight loss and CBD gummies with her name on them. In response, Winfrey is demanding an injunction to stop the company from using her name and likeness as well as forking over all profits made from the sale of the misleading advertising.
“When consumers see advertisements like this one, the only logical conclusion is that Ms. Winfrey and/or her company signed off on the use of “Oprah Keto Pills” and the pills do in fact work,” the suit states.
Emblaze One started promoting the products using Winfrey’s likeness in April 2022, Finurah reports. At the time, Oprah took to Instagram to let her followers know she had no affiliations with the company marketing the weightloss and CBD gummies.
“I have nothing to do with weight loss gummies or diet pills and I don’t want you all taken advantage of by people misusing my name,” Winfrey said in an Instagram Live.
“There have been social media ads, emails, and fake websites going out and I want you to hear it straight from me, that I have nothing to do with them. Please don’t be taken advantage of and don’t give your personal information to them.”
Now Emblaze One might have to give all their profits to a billionaire business mogul.