Timbaland and Swizz Beatz have reportedly filed a $28 million lawsuit against Triller after selling Verzuz to the social media app last year.
On Tuesday (Aug. 16), Rolling Stone reported that Tim and Swizz sued Triller in Los Angeles Superior Court the same day. The lawsuit alleges Triller has failed to pay the producers monies owed from the sale of the hits competition platform. According to the suit, Triller “unequivocally and unconditionally guaranteed to Mosley and Dean the payment and performance of Triller Hold’s obligations under that agreement and related agreements.”
Triller purchased Verzuz from Tim and Swizz last year, with the transaction finalizing on Jan. 28, 2021.The suit claims the super-producers were to be paid an amount soon after the closing of the deal and additionally on the first and second anniversary of the purchase. The duo received payments in January and April of 2021, but did not get the Jan. 28, 2022 payment. They then reportedly renegotiated with Triller for a different payment plan. According to the suit, Triller made the first payment under the new plan, but has failed to make any payments since, including $18 million that was owed by March 17, and the $1 million per month payments for the following 10 months.
A representative for Triller released a statement to RS about the matter. "This is truly unfortunate and we hope it is nothing more than a misunderstanding driven by lawyers," the statement reads. "We do not wish to air our dirty laundry in the press, but we have paid Swizz and Tim millions in cash and in stock. No one has benefited as much from Triller to date."
XXL has reached out to representatives for Verzuz and Triller for comment.
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz started Verzuz in 2020, as a means to keep people entertained during the pandemic and it has turned into a multimillion institution. Starting with hits battles between artists on Zoom, it quickly turned into must-see TV with big battles and big stage events including Dipset vs. The Lox, Jeezy vs. Gucci Mane, Three 6 Mafia vs. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Snoop Dogg vs. DMX, Nelly vs. Ludacris and many more.