Shark Tank star Daymond John has been granted a permanent restraining order against three former contestants on the ABC show in whom he invested. Ex-NFL defensive end Al “Bubba” Baker, his wife Sabrina and his daughter Brittani are now barred from speaking in any public forum about their interaction with John after the businessman claimed the three have repeatedly attacked him on social media, calling their experience with him a nightmare, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Baker and his family appeared on a 2014 episode of Shark Tank to pitch Bubba’s Q Boneless Baby Back Ribs to the sharks, but after John agreed to invest, things began to go downhill. The Bakers have accused John of trying to take over their business in scathing social media posts, which they will now be forced to delete, in addition to a post they made about Rastelli Foods Group, the manufacturer that was to produce ribs and to partner with the Bakers and John.
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“All the Bakers’ posts are negative, disparaging or both, and certainly could impact [DF Ventures] and John’s reputation, goodwill and credibility,” U.S. District Judge Robert Kugler wrote in his order. “These posts clearly caused reputational harm that John will now have to deal with and counter.” Earlier this year, Kugler granted John a temporary restraining order against the Bakers, ruling that they breached a 2019 agreement in which they agreed to not disparage John and Rastelli. Kugler found Friday that the family had breached that settlement agreement’s non-disparagement clause, which caused him to “forever” bar them from any further violations.
John did testify in his court filing that the comments made about him by the Bakers had led to a “major” television network canceling a show he was involved in that had been “previously greenlit” and that he also lost a speaking engagement and “major brand” deal “while the defendants put out their posts.”
The judge said in his ruling that the court could “only draw one logical conclusion: the Bakers are not doing this to try to improve the business or to further some other legitimate purpose. Instead, the Bakers’ enmity, antipathy, and animosity toward John, DFV, and the Rastellis overcame their financial self-interest and their ability to reasonably work through their issues with John, DFV, and the Rastellis.”
The Bakers declined to comment to the LA Times, which also obtained a statement from John. “Today’s decision against the Bakers, their company and their false statements is a moment of vindication,” the Shark Tank entrepreneur star said. “The actual facts, the record and the federal Judge’s opinion have confirmed that I did not – and could not have – committed any wrongdoing. I have always upheld transparency and honesty throughout my journey as an entrepreneur.”
