AMERICARapper Snoop Dogg, whose cereal brand is in his name, is suing Walmart for “deliberately failing to put products on shelves, reporting out of stock even though warehouses are full,” causing him to lose profits.

The lawsuit was filed in a Dakota County, Minnesota district court on Feb. 6.

Snoop Dogg, 52, real name Calvin Broadus, and Master P, 53, real name Percy Miller, are two American rappers who co-created food brand Broadus Foods in 2022. One of their products is breakfast cereal, Snoop Cereal.

They initially approached food manufacturer Post Consumer Brands (PCB) to get support for Snoop Cereal, hoping the breakfast products giant could help promote their products, the lawsuit states.

PCB then offered to buy the Snoop Cereal brand outright, but Snoop Dogg and Master P refused.

PCB therefore proposed and entered into a partnership promotion agreement with Broadus Foods to manufacture, market, distribute and sell Snoop Cereal in December 2022.

But according to the two plaintiffs, PCB did not honor the agreement and “pretended to agree” but surreptitiously “colluded with the chain supermarket Walmart so that no boxes of Snoop Cereal appear on store shelves.”

The two rappers allege that both PCB and Walmart “hidden” Snoop Cereal boxes in warehouses, encrypting products so they wouldn’t make it onto store shelves, thereby preventing Snoop Dogg and Master P from profiting from the sale.

“Months after Snoop Cereal launched, customers couldn’t find it in Walmar stores, unlike other PCB cereals. Although Snoop Cereal was listed as ‘out of stock,’ the warehouse was actually full,” the lawsuit states, alleging that the only reason Snoop Cereal was because PCBs and Walmart deliberately prevented the product from reaching the market.

The plaintiffs also allege Walmart raised the price of the cereal to more than $10 a box, going against the rappers’ ambitions to provide an affordable product to customers, add diversity to the food industry and inspire minority-owned food brands.

Snoop Dogg and Master P during an event. Photo: People

Reacting to the lawsuit, Walmart spokeswoman Kelly Hellbusch said the company has a “long history of supporting entrepreneurs” and that there are many factors that affect sales of any product, such as consumer demand, seasonality and price.

As for PCB, it said it was “very excited” to partner with the two rappers and that PCB had made a significant investment in the deal. “We are equally disappointed that consumer demand has not met expectations,” PCB said.

Snoop Dogg has been in the music and film industry for over 30 years, winning numerous awards such as the American Music Awards in 1995 and 17 Grammy nominations. Snoop Cereal isn’t Snoop Dogg’s only project when it comes to entering the world of food and drink. It’s also not the first time products related to the star have been controversial.

In 2020, Snoop drew criticism for his red wine called 19 Crimes Snoop Cali (19 Crimes) when some suggested the rapper should not have partnered with a liquor brand that was involved in “criminal activity.”

Snoop Dogg defended the move, saying “19 Crimes Snoop Cali represents and celebrates a second chance” that every criminal deserves and that “we all have a past, are part of a journey and build character.”