A dream come true turned into a deal gone sour as “Shark Tank” investor Daymond John is filing a restraining order against a company that he invested in on the show — and the accusations between both parties are turning ugly fast.
On Season 5 of the hit ABC show, the Baker family scored a deal with John for their boneless baby back rib company called Bubba’s Q. John invested $300,000 for a 30% stake in the company.
However, the trouble began when the Baker family claimed that off camera, John changed the deal to $100,000 for 35% of the company.
Last month, in an expose in the LA Times and through multiple social media posts, Al “Bubba” Baker, his wife Sabrina, and daughter Brittani slammed John by accusing him of leaving them out of key business meetings and denying them of “potentially lucrative partnerships,” claiming that the family has only seen roughly 4% of the $16 million in revenue the business has made since the show.
Calling John’s involvement in the business a “nightmare,” Baker claims that John had cut off all communication with his family until the paper began probing for the expose.
John, however, disputed their claims on social media and in the LA Times story and said the pandemic played a big role in his being unable to properly promote the product, as well as the supply chain price increases that directly affected the business’ bottom line.
@thesharkdaymond I’m not one to give oxygen to false information and bogus claims – especially ones that are rehashing things that were addressed through the legal process nearly 4 years ago. But I know when I need to stand up for myself. Here are my thoughts on the recent @latimes story that has tried to take down Shark Tank and go after me. I have nothing at all to hide whatsoever because I know the truth is on my side. #sharktankupdate #SharkTank #FinancialIntelligence ♬ original sound – Daymond John
But now that the family is making claims on social media, John has filed a restraining order against all three family members of the Baker family, as confirmed by spokespeople for the business mogul.
“After repeated attempts to give the Baker’s the ability to correct their violations. It is unfortunate that it has come to this,” Zach Rosenfield, a spokesperson for John told FOX Digital in a statement. “This temporary restraining order is due to the Baker’s blatant actions to undermine a business partnership and the legal parameters they agreed to 4 years ago. Their belief that they can unwind poor business decisions through slanderous social media posts and articles will no longer be tolerated.”
Brittani Baker responded to the restraining order via TikTok, alleging that John and his partners (including Rastelli Foods) have been replaying Bubba’s Q episode of “Shark Tank” as news has broken about the restraining order in an attempt to “capitalize off of this situation” so that viewers would be inspired to go online and purchase product, which John makes a direct profit.
Brittani also claims that she does not have any administrative access to the Rastelli Foods website, meaning that all inquiries and requests for comment are going directly to the food distributor, not the family.
“We have to decide if we want to legally pursue them,” John told the LA Times. “Even if we win, what is the real benefit of taking money from a small business?”
John has not yet publicly commented on the restraining order. John’s team did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur’s request for comment.
This story originally appeared on Entrepreneur
