Jimmy Fallon asks to be excused from testifying in Bored Ape trademark case

Lawyers for Jimmy Fallon, star of NBC’s long-running comedy and variety series “The Tonight Show,” have asked that the late-night host be excused from testifying in a Yuga Labs trademark dispute.

In a Monday court filing, Fallon’s lawyers requested that a subpoena requiring the comedian to testify in connection with the Yuga Labs Inc. v. Ripps et al. case be “quashed,” or canceled.

Yuga Labs, the creator of the highly successful NFT collection Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC), is suing Ryder Ripps and Jeremy Cahen for issuing a “copycat” NFT collection that resulted in “trademark infringement, false advertising, and unfair competition,” the document said. While Fallon “acquired” a BAYC NFT and talked about the collection on his show, he has nothing to do with the Yuga Labs and Ripps case, his lawyers allege in the petition.

Fallon’s lawyers said the television star “has no connection” to the dispute, is “not a party to the Ripps Litigation and has never met or interacted with Ripps and Cahen.” Additionally, “Ripps and Cahen have needlessly burdened Mr. Fallon” with the subpoena, the petition said.

The filing also stated that Fallon is, along with other celebrities, a defendant in a separate “securities litigation” involving Yuga Labs. Along with Paris Hilton, Fallon is a co-defendant in an ongoing lawsuit that alleges they worked with payment provider MoonPay to misleadingly promote Yuga Labs’ “financial products.”