Michael Diamond and Adam Horovitz have been spending their time in court in New York City for their lawsuit against Monster Energy Drinks, regarding the company’s recent use of “Ruckus in the Rockies” in a promotional video. The Beastie Boys have long vowed to never let their music be used for advertising purposes, so when it came to a company simply ignoring that, Mike D. and Ad-Rock sued Monster for $1 million and claimed that even if Monster had asked, they’d have said no. And when Mike D. took the stand again today, Monster’s lawyers tried to paint him as a hypocrite, according to the New York Daily News, over a claim that he made on Friday.
In describing how the group refuses to lease its songs for advertising, Diamond told the court that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Co. wanted to use the hit “Sabotage” for the film of the same name earlier this year. However, Diamond and Horovitz have principles, and they didn’t want their song associated with Arnold’s work.
“It felt too much like an endorsement” of the movie and of Schwarzenegger, he said.
“We’re not fans of his work and maybe some of his recent actions,” D said Monday. (Via the NY Daily News)
Monster’s lawyers reportedly pointed out that the band received $600 after “Sabotage” was used to introduce Arnold on The Tonight Show, but Mike D. “shrugged it off” because the Beastie Boys have performed for Fallon before. For old time’s sake, though, I’d like to think that the group’s official response looked more like this: