The Beastie Boys have sued Brinker International inc., the parent company of Chili’s Grill & Bar, accusing the restaurant chain of using the hip-hop group’s “Sabotage” song without permission in social-media ads.
The musical group, in a federal case filed Wednesday in New York, alleged Dallas-based Brinker created a Chili’s ad that used significant portions of “Sabotage” and mimicked the song’s music video.
Brinker did not comment. The company has recently used Boyz II Men and rhythm and blues singer Brian McKnight in ads.
“Sabotage,” released in 1994, was a hit for The Beastie Boys, and its accompanying music video, where the group’s members wore wigs, fake mustaches and sunglasses in a parody of 1970s crime television shows, remains one of the most recognizable.
The lawsuit accused Brinker of creating a Chili’s social-media ad in 2022 that used parts of the song with a video of three people wearing 1970s-style disguises stealing ingredients from a Chili’s restaurant.
The lawsuit was filed by surviving Beastie Boys members Adam Horovitz and Michael Diamond, along with the executor of the estate of Adam Yauch, a band member who died of cancer in 2012. Yauch, in his will, barred the use of his music in advertisements.
The Beastie Boys in 2014 won $1.7 million in a copyright violation case against the maker of Monster Energy drink for unauthorized use of one of the group’s songs.
In the Brinker case, the Beastie Boys accused Brinker of infringing copyrights and violating their trademark rights. They asked the court for at least $150,000 in monetary damages and an order blocking Brinker from using their work.
Brinker, founded in 1975, owns, operates or franchises nearly 1,600 restaurants in the United States and 27 other countries and two U.S. territories. It also owns the Maggiano's Little Italy casual-dining concept and the It's Just Wings virtual brand.
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