Key facts
- Lefkovits alleges the shoving scene was conceived and approved on set, not in the parody script he approved.
- The suit alleges Callaway approved both the concept and the final edit in writing.
- Lefkovits says he was away when filming finished and the scene was added without his knowledge.
- The suit alleges Kendrick's statement that the marketing department was responsible was false and defamatory.
- Good Good raised $45 million last year, before the ad backlash.
- Neither Good Good nor Kendrick has filed a legal response; neither responded to comment requests.
Jeff Lefkovits, Good Good's former brand and marketing vice president, filed a civil suit in Texas against the company and former CEO Matt Kendrick, alleging he was falsely blamed for a Callaway driver ad that was pulled after backlash. The suit seeks more than $1 million in relief. The report did not give the filing date.
The ad promoted a Callaway driver co-branded with Good Good, the golf creator collective known for its YouTube videos. In it, cofounder Garrett Clark runs at member Alexis Miestowski and shoves her to the ground, saying, "Do not touch my new driver." Kendrick and Clark said at the time it was a riff on the horror movie "Obsession," with Clark obsessed with the club to the point of insanity. Critics said it made light of domestic violence.
Good Good took the ad down and apologized, as did Callaway, which said it was not involved in production but that its review process was inadequate. Both said the ad was inconsistent with their values. Kendrick and then-president Joe Flannery left in the aftermath, and the company lost a string of partners.
According to the suit, the shoving scene was "conceived of and approved on set," not in the "lighthearted parody script" Lefkovits approved. The suit says the script ended with a comedy twist in which the group becomes equally obsessed with the driver and playfully competes to hold it, and contained no shoving scene or depiction of domestic violence. Lefkovits says he was away when filming finished and the scene was added without his knowledge or participation. The suit alleges Clark and Miestowski were among those who "loved" the edit and suggested no changes, and that "Callaway approved both the concept and the final edit in writing."
The suit says Kendrick emailed marketing partners on August 25 saying he was making changes to the marketing organization and blaming the team for the ad. Lefkovits was fired August 26, the suit says, and Kendrick left the company on September 2. The suit alleges Kendrick's statement that the marketing department was responsible, and that those people had been "removed," was false and defamatory and left Lefkovits unable to find work.
Neither Good Good nor Kendrick has filed a legal response. Kendrick and representatives for Good Good did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and Clark and Miestowski did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Before the ad, Good Good had built a string of retail partnerships and raised $45 million last year.