The Theodore Roosevelt U.S. Courthouse. Photo Credit: Beyond My Ken
Nearly 40 years after the debut of C+C Music Factory, founding member Robert Clivillés has fired off a $30 million trademark infringement and defamation lawsuit against “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” writer and rapper Freedom Williams.
62-year-old Clivillés submitted that pro se complaint to a New York federal court. Much of the in-depth action explores the early history of C+C, which formed back in 1990 and, in keeping with its name, was founded by Clivillés as well as David Cole.
The way the plaintiff tells the story, Freedom Williams contributed to the group’s 90s hits, also including “Here We Go (Let’s Rock & Roll)” and more, “exclusively as a featured guest artist on specific recordings” as opposed to a C+C member or co-founder.
(On the Williams-maintained C+C website, all three individuals are described as co-founders. But with little attempt made to conceal the filing party’s contempt for Williams, the action claims that Clivillés met the defendant “at Quad Recording Studios in or about 1987, where Williams was then working as an intern responsible for cleaning the studio facility.”)
Just in passing – the detail-oriented complaint covers more than a few angles – Williams allegedly exited C+C in 1992 before resuming performances under the act’s name “without authorization” in 1996 “following the commercial failure of his solo career.”
“Williams has been performing shows under the C+C Music Factory name without authorization since the late 1990s,” a relevant line reiterates. Meanwhile, as part of a deal with the estate of Cole, who passed away in 1995, Clivillés claims to be “the sole authorized user” of the name and brand in question.
With Freedom Williams having been performing as and seeking trademarks for C+C for some time, why has the courtroom confrontation only now initiated?
Well, Clivillés’ complaint specifically cites a late-May video posted by Williams to the C+C Instagram account. In the no-holds-barred upload, the artist doubled down on his plans to deliver a Freedom 250 concert – while also hurling criticism at those seeking to cancel the show, prominent politicians on both sides of the aisle, Kid Rock, and America itself.
“Williams made statements invoking Adolf Hitler, used repeated racial slurs, and directed vulgar and sexually degrading language at members of the public. Plaintiff Clivillés had no warning of and no input into these statements and was forced to launch a competing official C+C Music Factory Instagram account to publicly disavow Williams’ conduct,” the suit says of the video.
A “legal warning” on this Instagram page failed to bring about the desired result for Clivillés; despite his objections, Williams promptly dropped a single as C+C via indie label Big Mac Entertainment, which is likewise a defendant.
Regarding this timing, though not expressly acknowledged in the suit, the far-reaching rant generated a good bit of media buzz. Also, that Jon Stewart and presumably others referred to Williams as C+C’s frontman when reacting to the video probably didn’t sit right with Clivillés.
All told, the plaintiff is seeking the initially mentioned $30 million for breach of contract, defamation, fraud, unjust enrichment, unfair competition, fraud on the USPTO, trademark cancellation, trademark infringement, and false designation of origin.
DMN reached out to Williams for comment but didn’t immediately receive a response.
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