News/Commentary

‘Shark Tank’ host seeks restraining order against former contestants after business deal gets ugly

June 2, 2023 | | Print Article

Celebrity investor and “Shark Tank” star Daymond John is throwing down with former NFL defensive end Al “Bubba” Baker, his daughter Brittani, and his wife Sabrina, seeking a temporary restraining order against them over a boneless baby back rib business they all went into together through the show.

John was seeking to stop his business partners from speaking publicly about their arrangement following the family speaking out on social media, slamming him for what they claim is a “nightmare” experience since he invested in their “Bubba Q’s Boneless Baby Back Ribs” business, according to the Los Angeles Times. John and his other business partners are facing allegations of misleading the family and depriving them of profits.

The media outlet reported that a New Jersey federal judge dismissed a related case this week without prejudice over jurisdictional issues.

That ruling prompted John to have his attorneys file an amended complaint which asserts the Bakers conducted a “willful and malicious smear campaign” against him.

John is accusing the Bakers of violating a confidentiality agreement as part of arbitration and mediation settlements from 2019 and has also sent the family a cease-and-desist letter as the two sides have traded social media attacks for almost two weeks.

The Bakers are charging that John and his associates tried to seize control of their business. The family also asserts that Al Baker was excluded from key business meetings and financial information. Those allegations came to light in a Los Angeles Times investigation which John called a “flawed interview and false narrative.”

The family went on to claim that the offer they were made on the air was changed off-air. In Season 5 of “Shark Tank,” the family accepted an offer from John for a $300,000 investment in exchange for a 30% interest in the company. They insist that off-air, John lowered the investment to $100,000 in exchange for a 35% stake in the business.

John’s spokesperson lamented to the Los Angeles Times that it was “unfortunate that it has come to this” concerning legal action.

“This temporary restraining order is due to the Bakers’ blatant actions to undermine a business partnership and the legal parameters they agreed to 4 years ago,” spokesperson Zach Rosenfield insisted in a public statement. “Their belief that they can unwind poor business decisions through slanderous social media posts and articles will no longer be tolerated.”

The family alleges that they have received around 4 percent of the $16 million in revenue from the business.

A meat manufacturing company that produces the Bakers’ product, Rastelli Foods Group, is following in John’s legal footsteps and is seeking its own temporary restraining order against the family for allegedly “false” and “defamatory statements” they said about the company, according to the Los Angeles Times.

As for the Baker family, they say they have a right to speak “the truth” about working with John and that doing so “is in the best interest of the public.”

John is getting blasted on social media for the legal maneuvers against the family and it’s not the first time he’s found himself in the hot seat. In 2021, John praised remarks delivered by Nation of Islam religious leader Louis Farrakhan at DMX’s funeral.

Farrakhan was accused of making “dozens of antisemitic statements” which is nothing new for him. John’s support of the radical Islamic leader, however, was blasted by many.

There’s lots of blowback against John on Twitter over the faceoff:

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Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
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