A shot of tequila and a chaser of
destroyed art? Here's why Kendall Jenner's tequila brand is making
people thunderstruck and furious. While promoting her tequila brand,
818, at the famous music festival, the model and her team hosted a pop-up event
at an Indio, California venue called Club 5 Bar. A major advertising error at the event
allegedly resulted in the damage of a mural, and now, Jenner and her brand could
be in trouble with the bar's owners. A massive mural painted on an outside
wall of Club 5 Bar features the band AC/DC mid-performance. Since hosting
the 818 pop-up event, however, one of the bar's owners claims the mural is
no longer in mint condition. During the event, the 818 team covered the mural with a huge
sign, making it look like there was actually an 818-branded mural on the wall. While this
may have been a nice touch for the event, the AC/DC mural now features chipped-off parts
which are being blamed on Jenner's brand. On Monday, April 15, one of the bar's owners,
Randy Franco, put out a press release stating that the 818 team's negligence when applying
and later removing the sign caused the damage, per TMZ. Other sources, however, say Franco
is to blame for the mural's current state. Sources have told the Daily Mail that he and his
mother and fellow bar co-owner, Carmen Franco, actually signed a contract ahead of the pop-up
event agreeing to allow the sign's placement, regardless of potential damage. Yet, a source told
TMZ that while Randy did sign a contract allowing the use of the sign, it was with the stipulation
that something would be placed between the mural and the sign in order to protect the paint.
According to Franco, this never happened and the placement of the 818 sign, described by the
Mail as a "decal," caused damage to the AC/DC mural as it was applied with an adhesive that
pulled off bits of paint during its removal. His mother, however, reportedly sent an
email after the 818 team left the bar, saying that everything looked like it was
in tip-top shape, even specifically noting that the mural was in good condition. Regardless,
photos shared with TMZ courtesy of Club 5 Bar show that the mural has, in fact, been damaged and has
some places with chipped paint around the edges. Allegedly damaging a bar's mural during
Coachella may be the latest bit of controversy Kendall Jenner has gotten
caught up in thanks to 818 Tequila, but it is hardly the first. The
brand, which Jenner launched in 2021, had the internet seeing red due to accusations
of cultural appropriation and criticism that Jenner doesn't have enough understanding of
tequila to be the right face for the product. "Today we shook up the classics and I
can't wait to see what you try at home." The Kardashian-Jenner family has had more than a
few successful business ventures over the years, and Kendall's alcohol brand is no
exception. After its first year of sales, the brand's President and COO,
Mike Novy, said in a press release, "We are thrilled to see the growth of 818 Tequila and sales continue to
outperform our expectations." So, it seems that myriad controversies
have yet to prevail over the power of the Jenner name or the popularity
of celebrity-branded tequilas. As for the AC/DC mural incident, it is
unclear, as of now, if the owners of Club 5 Bar intend to take legal action against 818
for damaging their property. According to TMZ, as of Monday, April 15, Randy Franco had yet
to get in touch with 818 about the problem.
