Courtesy of Chelsea Houska/Instagram
‘Teen Mom 2’ Alum Cole DeBoer Slams MTV for ‘Shady’ Practices, Withholding Payments: ‘Very S–tty’
Teen Mom 2 alum Chelsea Houska’s husband, Cole DeBoer, slammed MTV in a new court filing obtained by In Touch.
“MTV is very s–tty and also shady when it comes to paying everyone,” Cole, 35, wrote in a June 2016 email to Sara Nemerov, founder and CEO of Envy Branding, which was filed as part of a declaration by the couple’s manager in their lawsuit against Nemerov’s company. “Trying to add up what Chelsea and myself have both received and adding up what we are actually owed isn’t even close.”
He went on to claim that MTV sent records of what had been paid and what was still owed, adding that it was “nowhere near being accurate.”
The South Dakota couple are currently being sued by their former business partners and consulting company, Envy Branding, for allegedly withholding money made via social media promotions. The company – who filed the lawsuit in 2020 – were originally seeking $3 million in damages, but later amended their complaint to include a portion of the couple’s earnings from the network.
While Chelsea reportedly signed on with the consulting firm in 2015, her husband joined the following year.
According to the complaint filed by the DeBoer’s management company, The William Gerard Group, on June 16, 2023, Envy was aware that they “would not take any commission for Teen Mom 2 and that both Envy and TWGG would only receive commission from the revenue collected from branding/sponsorship deals.”
William Dzombak, the founder of TWGG, went on to say that “it is industry standard that talent managers do not take commission on work that the talent originates before the establishment of the management relationship.”
Dzombak added, “Envy only claimed a right to [their MTV money] at the point the relationship was irreparably damaged.”
“We knew we were not commissioning any MTV money bc [Chelsea] already had that deal in place,” he claimed to have written in an email to Nemerov, adding, “I further clarified that I, and not Ms. Nemerov, had handled the latest round of negotiating with Teen Mom 2 representatives to renew the DeBoers’ contract to appear on the show.”
The Down Home Fab stars announced they were leaving the long running franchise after 10 seasons in November 2020.
“After much thought and discussion with my family and friends, Cole and I have decided that this season will be our last,” the TV personality wrote via Instagram at the time. “We are forever thankful to MTV and our crew, who are like family to us. We’re parting on the best of terms and will stay in touch long after this. We’re proud to have been able to share our story and are so grateful to the fans who have followed our journey from the beginning.”
The Sun was the first to report the news.
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