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David Beckham and Mark Wahlberg were once business partners, but that partnership has ended on brutal terms. According to a new report, the former soccer star filed a lawsuit against the action movie star for an alleged fitness brand deal that went awry. Before their business collaboration, though, Wahlberg made a comment about Beckham years prior, pointing to what eventually became an icy relationship.
Learn about Beckham’s case against Wahlberg and their partnership below.
Why Is David Beckham Suing Mark Wahlberg?
On April 19, 2024, The Sun reported that Beckham’s firm, DB Ventures Ltd., had filed a lawsuit against Wahlberg, alleging that the Lovely Bones actor “duped” Beckham. The London native is also suing Wahlberg’s firm, Mark Wahlberg Investment Group, in addition to the founders of F45, Adam Gilchrist and Rob Deutsch.
In the lawsuit, Beckham claimed he lost $8.5 million when the stocks he was promised were withheld after share prices fell. In response, Wahlberg requested a judge to dismiss the lawsuit, claiming that the “fraudulent conduct” allegations were baseless.
Neither Beckham nor Wahlberg has publicly spoken out about the legal matter.
Were David Beckham and Mark Wahlberg Friends?
After the former footballer partnered with the Fighter star in 2021 by agreeing to be F45’s global ambassador, they had a solid friendship. According to a press release from that year, Beckham referred to Wahlberg as his “friend.”
“I’ve been a fan of the F45 franchise and training model since being introduced by my friend, Mark Wahlberg,” Beckham said.
Were Mark Wahlberg and David Beckham Neighbors?
Previously, Wahlberg made a comment about Beckham and his family in 2009 after the family moved to Wahlberg’s L.A. neighborhood.
“Man, the Beckhams. It used to be so quiet on my road,” Wahlberg told Daily Mail that year. “Then, David moves in with his family. Suddenly we’ve got paparazzi hanging out day and night. Now, they’ll follow any car that drives down the road. I take strong exception to that kind of thing. When I take my kids to the park, I don’t want strangers sticking their lenses into our faces.”
Wahlberg added to the outlet, “Where I come from, it’s not considered wise to follow people around like that unless you’re looking for serious trouble. When that happens I start thinking, ‘Either I’m going to get that guy or he’s going to get me.’”
However, Wahlberg clarified in a separate interview that he didn’t mean any disrespect toward Beckham.
“He wanted me to email him about something – I don’t know if it was a film,” Wahlberg explained to The Sun in a separate interview. “I had said something, half joking, because his house is at the bottom of our hill and a lot of people hang around the area. So I said something like, ‘I don’t like him being here because of that.’ I met him and some of his sons and he seems like a nice guy … I wanted to make sure he hadn’t taken that [comment] personally.”