Francesca Farago Dragged Into Legal Fight Over MAC Makeup Deal
By Afouda Bamidele on October 19, 2023 at 3:40 PM EDT
Updated on October 19, 2023 at 3:41 PM EDT
Francesca Farago is embroiled in a nasty legal between two talent agencies, over the right to represent her in big deals.
The model, who rose to fame as part of Netflix's "Too Hot To Handle," was accused of using a digital talent management company to "circumvent" her agreement with a Los Angeles-based talent agency that sponsored her U.S. work visa.
According to the legal documents, obtained by The Blast, the core issue involves a massive deal she struck with MAC makeup.
Francesca Farago Accused Of Breaching Contract With Talent Agency
According to court documents obtained by The Blast, a company named Bounty LA, LLC is suing We Are Verified, LLC (WAV) for allegedly interfering in contractual relations with model Francesca Farago.
Bounty, a Los Angeles-based talent agency, claimed they entered a deal to be Farago's exclusive talent agent and sponsored a visa enabling Farago to live and work in Los Angeles. As part of the deal, the LA-based agency would be the "sole and exclusive talent agent to negotiate contracts for the rendition of Farago's professional services as a model and talent in the United States."
In January 2021, Bounty entered a deal with WAV, a digital talent management company and digital marketing agency, for Farago to render her services as a professional model. However, she violated her agreement with Bounty, allowing WAV to negotiate contracts on her behalf.
"Notwithstanding Farago's contractual obligations to Bounty, upon information and belief, Farago thereafter engaged WAV in violation of the exclusivity provision of the Agreement," the document read.
It continued, "Further, upon information and belief, Farago diverted any extensions, renewals, and modifications of deals originally negotiated by Bounty to WAV, in violation of the Agreement, which provides Bounty is entitled to negotiate any and all extensions, renewals, and/or modifications of Farago's deals during the term of the Agreement."
Bounty cited Farago's deal with MAC cosmetics, alleging that the television personality used WAV as her "exclusive representative to circumvent Bounty entirely, violating the Agreement." The talent agency claimed in the lawsuit that to date "Defendants have failed to include Bounty in negotiations with M.A.C., retaining all monies for themselves and failing to pay Bounty any commissions from the ongoing M.A.C. deals."
Not only that, Bounty claims Farago proceeded to utilize WAV to negotiate deals involving Warner Podcast and Netflix in abid to "to avoid making any commission payment for these deals to Bounty." The company has since "requested that Farago cease utilizing WAV to circumvent her Agreement with Bounty" on or about April 22, 2022.
Bounty, who requested a jury for trial, is suing for an undisclosed amount.
Farago & Fiancé Jesse Sullivan Detail 'Taxing' IVF Journey
The lawsuit comes amid Farago and her fiancé Jesse Sullivan's fertility battle on their journey to expand their family. The reality star and the trans activist, who got engaged in May 2023, recently opened up about their IVF journey in an interview with Page Six.
The lovebirds revealed that they knew they wanted to start a family together as early as their second date. "We'd known each other for, like, two months, and we were driving down a mountain [in Canada], and we were talking about how we would conceive our future children. It was one of our really early-on conversations," the Canadian model told the outlet.
The pair, who plan to get married in May 2024, is trying to conceive through IVF. Sullivan described it as "a lot more mentally and physically taxing than [either of them] realized." Both parties are undergoing treatment.
"You start off with some appointments, some ultrasounds, some blood work," the reality star explained, "and then you go on hormones for 10 to 12 days. So every day, you inject a certain amount of hormones. [Jesse] had to inject a lot because he didn't have as many eggs."
Sullivan, however, had to stop taking testosterone amid his IVF injections because "he wanted to give himself the best chance."
Luckily, Farago and Sullivan — who had chosen their sperm donor — were able to create 18 embryos: 15 using the former's eggs and three using the latter's. Despite their success, the couple admitted it wasn't an easy process.
"It's extremely hard on your mental health. You're freaking out, you feel terrible, you're tired, you're bloated, you feel depressed in a way," Farago lamented. On the other hand, Sullivan claimed he had a bit more experience because he has "dealt with the ups and downs of hormones" for several years.
The Netflix star would be carrying the pregnancy, and they hope to have four children — in addition to Sullivan's 15-year-old, Arlo — in their ideal world.