UPDATED June 21, 4:50 p.m. ET: Before Rhuigi Villaseñor's Paris Fashion Week show tonight, he spoke withVogue Business about departing from Bally to focus on Rhude and declined to comment about the lawsuit against him.
On Bally, he said, “My contract was up. The business grew. That’s amazing. I acquired so much knowledge. Everything else is just noise.”
On the court action, his publicist provided a statement. “Mr. Robertson’s assertions are completely unfounded and his legal claims have no merit at all. Mr. Villaseñor and RMV Group [Villaseñor’s personal limited liability company], will vigorously defend against this lawsuit and look forward to presenting their defences in court.”
See original story below.
In a federal lawsuit filed this week, Rhude founder Rhuigi Villaseñor has been accused of mishandling company assets for his own purposes.
Per The Los Angeles Times, Rhude minority stakeholder George Robertson claims Villaseñor has been "pilfering the Rhude Companies’ coffers to support” a “lavish lifestyle." According to the lawsuit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in L.A., he's used company funds to pay for vacations to Italy, luxury cars such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis, watches costing upwards of $100,000, and private jet travel. Robertson owns 20 percent of the company and alleged Villaseñor boasted Rhude received annual revenue of over $30 million, despite only giving $41,000 a year to Robertson.
“He has taken advantage of his power and control over the Rhude Companies’ products, designs, bank accounts and financial records to enrich himself to Robertson’s detriment,” reads the lawsuit. Robertson is seeking compensation, the opportunity to go through the company's financial books, and the removal of Villaseñor's control of Rhude.
On Friday, Villaseñor took to his Instagram to plug a spring-summer Paris Fashion Week show going down June 21, writing, "Come to my show if you wanna talk."
Rhuigi Villaseñor founded Rhude in 2015. The label has amassed some big-name fans such as ASAP Rocky, Kendrick Lamar, LeBron James, and Michael B. Jordan among countless others. George Robertson joined the company in 2016 after investing $50,000. In the lawsuit, he suggests he provided "industry connections" that helped further Rhude's reputation. He and Rhuigi had a falling out in 2019, although Robertson has alleged Villaseñor “grew jealous” when he came up with the idea for Rhude's wildly popular "traxedo" pants.
Robertson has also accused Villaseñor of selling Rhude goods "to VIP clients—many of them NBA players, celebrities and musicians—in private sales."
They attempted to resolve the dispute privately. In 2021, Robertson was offered $4 million for his 20 percent share of the company.
