It looks like Chili’s had some ill communication with the Beastie Boys, as the famed hip hop group filed a lawsuit on Wednesday over allegations that the restaurant chain’s parent company Brinker International used the group’s classic 1994 song “Sabotage” to promote its restaurants without permission.
In the suit, filed in New York federal court and reviewed by Rolling Stone, Beastie Boys claim that Brinker began unlawfully using “Sabotage” to promote Chili’s in social media advertisements starting around November 2022. Aside from using the song without permission, the complaint states, one of the ads also used was resemblant of the song’s famed Spike Jonze-directed music video, complete with “three characters wearing obvious 70s-style wigs, fake mustaches, and sunglasses who were intended to evoke the three members of Beastie Boys.”
“Use of the ‘Sabotage’ sound recording, music composition and video was all without permission,” the suit said. “The plaintiffs do not license ‘Sabotage’ or any of their other intellectual property for third-party product advertising purposes, and deceased Beastie Boys member Adam Yauch included a provision in his will prohibiting such uses.”
The band officially sued Blinker for copyright infringement and is seeking monetary damages of at least $150,000. A rep for the Beastie Boys and Blinker did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone‘s request for comment.
The Beastie Boys are one of the most celebrated hip hop groups of all time, with three of their albums featured in Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.
As the band said in its suit, Adam Yauch’s will included a provision to prohibit the use of his music in ads. As such, this isn’t the first time the Beastie Boys have sued a major brand over unauthorized music use. The band won a $1.7 million verdict back in 2014 against the Monster energy drink company for using several of the group’s songs in a promotional video. The same year, Beastie Boys reached an undisclosed settlement with toy company GoldieBlox over the use of their song “Girls.”
