Post Malone Sued Over Unpaid Music Video Appearance

Larry Deuel, a high-school teacher and part-time limousine driver, sued Post Malone, Tyla Yaweh, Sony Music and others on Oct. 17 in Utah’s Fourth District Court, alleging he was recruited to appear in their 2020 “Tommy Lee” music video, promised he would be “taken care of,” but never paid. Deuel says he appears prominently—unrolling a red carpet, opening car doors and standing beside the limo—and never signed a release allowing use of his name, image and likeness; the complaint notes the video has more than 97 million YouTube views and hundreds of millions of streams. The lawsuit alleges fraudulent inducement, misappropriation of likeness, breach of contract and unjust enrichment and seeks roughly $10 million in damages, including punitive damages and disgorgement of profits, with alternative claims seeking at least $2.5 million in principal and $7.5 million in punitive damages. Deuel says he attempted to resolve the matter privately for five years and has requested a jury trial. Representatives for Malone, Yaweh and Sony have not publicly responded.