Elliot Tebele, better known online as FuckJerry, has been sued over failing to properly promote the movie “Frat Star.”
Courtesy of YouTube
Easy money
According to a lawsuit filed with the Manhattan Supreme Court in late March, the social media star signed a $10,000 deal to promote the movie across all his platforms. Considering he boasts 11.7 million followers on Instagram alone, that is quite the potential audience once you throw in Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. This is all Elliot had to do in exchange for the money, plus an acting role and a producer credit. Sounds easy enough, right? Especially for someone with no previous acting experience.
The producers went so far as to actually create six posts for Tebele to post as @fuckjerry. All six were intended to be “first class” and “professional.” And even though most of the hard work was done for the Instagrammer, the producers claim he “neither cooperated … nor posted any posts.”
Finally on the day of the “Frat Star” premiere, Tebele posted an “unflattering version of a video clip from the motion picture,” angering producers.
“The post misspelled the name of the motion picture. [It] did not include any kind of on-camera personal appearance by Tebele,” the complaint continues.
It’s safe to assume that the producers did not appreciate their hard work being misrepresented.
Elliot then tried to distance himself from the situation all together. Tebele said that “it’s hard to believe” that he would agree to such a low dollar amount, even though the deal was made back in 2015. With @fuckjerry posts now going for $30,000 a piece, it’s possible this is just an attempt at a getting a bigger payday.
“Frat Star” was released directly to platforms like iTunes, YouTube and Verizon Fios this past January. You can watch the movie for $3.99 on YouTube Red here.
Innocent or guilty?
Tebele’s company, FJERRY LCC asserts that “the litigation and the claims are inaccurate and meritless,” but we can’t be too sure yet. After all, Elliot did immediately put up some rushed posts once the producers filed their claim seeking $250,000 in damages.
Do you think @fuckjerry is at fault? Will “Frat Star” movie get its damages? Sound off in the comments!
