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.
And the whole thing is over coffee.
Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch — a filming location for Yellowstone and 1883 — filed suit in Texas federal court against Hauser’s coffee company Free Rein on Nov. 21.
The issue? The 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 roasted Free Rein for a logo that’s “confusingly similar to the BR Brand for virtually identical goods” and, according to NBC News, 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.
Bosque Ranch offers a coffee 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 has brand names like “American Dirt” and “Heavy Spur” and offers “coffee that fuels dreams.” The websites for both coffees feature Sheridan and Hauser, respectively, standing outdoors in cowboy hats holding a cup of java, looking off into the distance. Neither side is commenting, so it’s unclear if the lawsuit against Free Rein’s use of the logo will 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, over the actor’s schedule. 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 projects, and Sheridan himself pointed to Paramount’s rising demands for more content for its streaming service.
Since then, Costner has threatened to sue Paramount over what he perceives as money owed to him for the show’s remaining season 5 episodes, which have not yet been shot, and it’s very 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.
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