‘Yellowstone’ Boss Taylor Sheridan Sues His Star Cole Hauser Over Coffee
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Another Yellowstone fight is a-brewin’!
Co-creator and showrunner Taylor Sheridan has filed a lawsuit against one of his own stars — Cole Hauser, who plays the fan-favorite, murderous-yet-romantic Rip.
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The whole thing is over coffee.
Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch — a filming location for Yellowstone and 1883 — filed suit in a Texas federal court against Hauser’s coffee company, Free Rein, on Nov. 21.
The issue? Free Rein’s coffee company’s brand logo looks similar to Sheridan’s company’s brand logo. To make matters slightly confusing, the brand logos look like literal cattle brands — Bosque’s logo has an intertwined “BR” and Free Rein has an intertwined “FR.”
The suit alleges “trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising” and it roasts Free Rein for a logo that’s “confusingly similar to the BR Brand for virtually identical goods” and further alleged Free Rein is trying to “mistake or to deceive as to the affiliation, connection, or association” with the ranch. In other words: Sheridan’s company has already bean there, done that, and Free Rein doesn’t have, well, free rein to use a similar logo that’s allegedly “irreparably damaging to Bosque Ranch.”
Bosque Ranch announced in July its coffee brand that reflects “the Cowboy way of life” and its ad copy notes, “one thing as essential to the Cowboy as his boots and saddle is coffee. It is our fuel. Bosque Ranch Craft Coffee is bold yet smooth, and meant to be sipped all day. And sometimes all night.” Free Rein coffee launched three months later, saying its coffee was “born from the cowboy tradition,” and has product names like “American Dirt” and “Heavy Spur.”
The websites for both coffees feature Sheridan and Hauser, respectively, standing outdoors in cowboy hats holding a cup of java, looking wistfully off into the distance. Neither side is commenting, so it’s as yet unclear if the lawsuit will make Free Rein’s use of the logo grind to a halt.
The lawsuit adds to the slow drip of controversy over the hit Paramount series, which has been on a long hiatus for various reasons that include Sheridan’s battle with another star of the show, Kevin Costner, who has seemingly backed out of filming. Sources from the production have blamed the actor’s busy schedule, while sources from the actor’s camp have claimed Sheridan took on too many TV projects so he wasn’t focused enough on the show, and Sheridan himself pointed to Paramount’s rising demands for more content for its streaming service.
Costner has also threatened to sue Paramount over what he perceives as money owed to him for the show’s remaining season five episodes, which have not yet been shot, and it’s unclear if the actor will participate.
Instead, Costner is directing and starring in a series of Western films, titled Horizon, the first two of which are scheduled for release next year. Yellowstone is expected to resume production early next year and return in late 2024 for its final episodes.
Costner, by and by, also has a coffee deal that features a publicity photo of him outdoors in a cowboy hat and holding a cup. The coffee’s name: Horizon Blend.
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