Things are getting even more complicated behind the scenes of Yellowstone now that creator Taylor Sheridan’s ranch is suing Cole Hauser’s coffee brand.
According to documents obtained by Us Weekly, Sheridan’s Bosque Ranch filed a lawsuit on November 21 against Hauser’s coffee company, Free Rein, for trademark infringement, unfair competition and false advertising.
The lawsuit alleges that Bosque Ranch — which was created nearly 20 years ago by Sheridan, 53, to describe his various “business and personal endeavors” — has a unique design “B and R” logo similar to Hauser’s coffee brand. Sheridan’s branding has even made an appearance on Yellowstone, which Hauser, 48, stars in as Rip Wheeler.
Sheridan claims in his filing that Free Rein is “confusingly similar” to his brand and “constitutes false and misleading descriptions of fact which are likely to cause confusion or to cause mistake” as to which goods are associated with Bosque Ranch.
The documents also allege that Bosque Ranch publicly announced a new craft coffee reflecting the “cowboy way of life” in June. Sheridan claims the rollout is seemingly similar to Hauser’s brand, which was launched “a little over three months” later. The filing claims Hauser did “not receive permission or authorization” from Sheridan.
Consequently, Bosque Ranch said that the similarity between Free Rein is “irreparably damaging” to their brand and “if not enjoined, Bosque Ranch will continue to suffer irreparable injury.”
The lawsuit goes on to request that Hauser’s company stop using the Free Rein brand and “destroy all products, marketing and promotional materials” that relate to their brand. Bosque Ranch also expects that Free Rein will pay for all “compensatory damages.”
This isn’t the first time that the Yellowstone crew has been involved in off-screen drama. In February, Deadline reported that the Paramount series was expected to end in its 5th season due to “disagreements over shooting schedules” with lead actor Kevin Costner, who plays patriarch John Dutton. Costner, 68, allegedly “only wanted to spend a week shooting” the second half of season 5 which is not set to air until November 2024.
Costner’s lawyer Marty Singer, later slammed the allegations, telling Deadline, “The idea that Kevin was only willing to work one week on the second half of season 5 of Yellowstone is an absolute lie. It’s ridiculous — and anyone suggesting it shouldn’t be believed for one second. As everyone who knows anything about Kevin is well aware, he is incredibly passionate about the show and has always gone way above and beyond to ensure its success.”
More drama ensued in April when Costner and Sheridan abruptly canceled their appearances at PaleyFest in Los Angeles, which was planning to honor Yellowstone.
“The ongoing issues between Kevin, who’s an executive producer, and Taylor is what led to the last minute cancelation,” a source exclusively told Us at the time. “Kevin didn’t want to come across as unauthentic and he would have if he was forced to dodge uncomfortable questions about their working relationship. It seemed like a lose-lose situation for him. It just wasn’t worth it to Kevin. It’s safe to say that the drama behind the scenes is far from over.”
In May, The Hollywood Reporter shared that Yellowstone would be ending in season 5 and there was “no insight into Costner’s level of participation” in filming the rest of the season.
One month later, Sheridan broke his silence on his rumored feud with Costner.
“My last conversation with Kevin was that he had this passion project he wanted to direct,” he explained to The Hollywood Reporter in June. “He and the network were arguing about when he could be done with Yellowstone. I said, ‘We can certainly work a schedule toward [his preferred exit date],’ which we did. My opinion of Kevin as an actor hasn’t altered. I’ve never had an issue with Kevin that he and I couldn’t work out on the phone.”
Sheridan also noted that rumors that the pair clashed over scheduling problems were overblown.
“Once lawyers get involved, then people don’t get to talk to each other and start saying things that aren’t true and attempt to shift blame based on how the press or public seem to be reacting,” he explained. “[Kevin] took a lot of this on the chin and I don’t know that anyone deserves it. His movie [Horizon] seems to be a great priority to him and he wants to shift focus. I sure hope [the movie is] worth it — and that it’s a good one.”
