Faizon Love Sues Universal, Claims Racist 'Couples Retreat' Ads

STUDIO CITY, CA — Actor and comedian Faizon Love filed a lawsuit today against Universal Studios, accusing the company of conducting racist advertising campaign for the 2009 movie 'Couples Retreat,' which he starred in. Love accused Universal of breach of contract, along with fraud and violations of California's Unruh Civil Rights Act for intentional discrimination.

Love was one of eight stars in the movie, which has grossed over $171 million to date. The actor says his contract guaranteed him star billing including advertising and promotional materials equal to six of his co-stars, which ran in the U.S.

However, Love says international posters for the movie removed names and photos of himself and Kali Hawk, the only Black stars in the film. According to the lawsuit, Love was also not invited to participate in the European press tour for the film's release overseas.

“Setting aside Universal Studios’ self-professed solidarity with progressive racial goals, the facts underpinning this case demonstrate that Universal Studios is a fully-participating collaborator in maintaining a bigoted status quo,” the lawsuit says.

Love says he challenged Universal in 2009 over the changes to the marketing, and the studio promised to stop using the ad in question. According to the lawsuit, Universal also promised to give Love other major roles, including a sizeable role next to 'Couples Retreat' co-star Vince Vaughn in a future TV show.

In July 2020, however, Love says he discovered that Universal was continuing to use a version of the poster without his image and name.

“This film was a big money-maker for Universal, but instead of honoring my work and my contract, the studio chose to render me invisible to billions of moviegoers around the world,” Love said. “They have not only hurt me financially, they have hurt me in a deeper way by dismissing me because of my Blackness – and they have hurt all Black performers by continuing to perpetuate racism in the movie industry.”

Patch has reached out to Universal Studios for comment.