Snoop Dogg And Master P Sue Walmart For Allegedly Gatekeeping Their Cereal From Customers
![Snoop Dogg And Master P Sue Walmart For Allegedly Gatekeeping Their Cereal
From Customers](/thumb/phpThumb.php?src=%2Fuploads%2Fnews%2F54%2F5429%2F9%2F5429906-snoop-dogg-and-master-p-sue-walmart-for-allegedly-gatekeeping-their-cereal-from-.jpg&w=750&hash=b7b29a932cd3667e1c63112e09dcadae)
Snoop Dogg and Master P are taking a retail juggernaut to court.
The chart-topping rappers are not just rappers but entrepreneurs looking to build generational wealth. But with entrepreneurship comes tall challenges, one of which the duo faces. On Tuesday (Jan. 6), both entertainers filed a lawsuit against Walmart and food manufacturer Post Consumer Brands for gatekeeping their joint cereal brand from customers, as reported by the Washington Post.
The artists claimed Walmart and PCB intentionally acted in a “diabolical” and “underhanded” manner by “hiding” boxes of “Snoop Cereal” in stockrooms and coding the product “to not be put out on store shelves." The suit also claims that Walmart “hiked the price” of the cereal to more than $10 a box, as opposed to Snoop Dogg and Master P's objective to provide affordable options for consumers. The suit also claims customers could not find the product in "many" Walmart stores, contrary to Post-branded cereals.
According to the suit, these actions resulted in a lack of sales for the duo.
To drive their case forward, Snoop Dogg and Master P have acquired civil rights attorney, Ben Crump.
“This case shines a light on the steep challenges faced by minority-owned businesses in securing fair opportunities in the marketplace,” said the attorney. “The actions by Post Foods and Walmart demonstrate cynical disregard and exploitation of minority entrepreneurs in the business world.”
On Wednesday (Jan. 7), Crump took to social media with his support of the rappers' case.
"I’m proud to work with two rap icons, @MasterPMiller and @SnoopDogg, to make sure Walmart and Post Foods are held accountable for ignoring Black businesses,!" Crump tweeted. "We MUST demand that Black business is treated with respect — we’re fighting for our right to build generational wealth!"
In 2022, the rappers originated their joint food label, Broadus Foods, and then took their product, Snoop Cereal to PCB for promotion. But according to the lawsuit, the duo was met with an alternative. PCB offered to buy Snoop Cereal, but Snoop Dogg and Master P turned the offer down because they “hoped to preserve Broadus Foods as a legacy to their families."
The lawsuit claims their decision not to sell Snoop Cereal led to a trail of “bad faith dealings.”
In 2022, PCB entered into a partnership promotion agreement with Broadus Foods for the manufacturing, marketing, distribution, and sale of Snoop Cereal. The lawsuit cites that PCB failed to meet their end of the agreement while “pretending to be on board” along with treating Snoop Cereal like “one of its own brands.”
The suit cites that PCB “worked with Walmart to ensure that none of the boxes of Snoop Cereal would ever appear on the store shelves."
“If Post and Walmart are able to do this to popular businessmen such as Snoop Dogg and Master P, then they will definitely do it to the mon-and-pop and minority owned companies who do not have the ability to defend themselves,” the lawsuit said.
Still, Walmart maintains its ethical commitment that has amassed a “strong history of supporting entrepreneurs” and that “many factors affect the sales of any given product, including consumer demand, seasonality, and price to name a few," said the company's spokesperson Kelly Hellbusch.