At the premiere of “Curb Your Enthusiasm’s” final season, Larry David expressed remorse for his participation in a Super Bowl commercial for FTX, reflecting on the decision as misguided after the cryptocurrency exchange’s bankruptcy.
Larry David Admits Regret Over FTX Super Bowl Ad: ‘Like an Idiot, I Did It’
Larry David, the creator behind “Seinfeld” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” has recently expressed regret over his involvement in a Super Bowl ad for the now-bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Speaking at the premiere of the final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” David admitted that his decision to endorse FTX was misguided.
I asked people—friends of mine who were well versed in this stuff—’Should I do this ad? Is there anything wrong with this, with me doing this? Is this okay?’ And they said, ‘Yeah, this is totally on the up and up… Do it.’ So like an idiot, I did it.
In the 2022 Super Bowl commercial, David humorously rejected groundbreaking inventions like the wheel and the lightbulb, ending with a skeptical view of FTX. This ironic approach became controversial when FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022 after significant discrepancies in its accounting came to light.
Alongside other celebrity endorsers, including Tom Brady and Shaquille O’Neal, David found himself embroiled in a class action lawsuit. The suit accuses them of complicity in a “fraudulent scheme” with FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried, aimed at deceiving unsophisticated investors.
“I’m in a class action lawsuit, which I would love to be part of,” David told the Associated Press. “Because part of my salary was in crypto—so I lost a lot of money.” It’s reported in a biography of Bankman-Fried by Michael Lewis that David was paid $10 million for the ad, but the payment method remains unconfirmed.
Legal proceedings against FTX continue, recently the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia reversed a prior decision, now requiring FTX to be investigated by an independent examiner. As for FTX’s founder and former CEO, Bankman-Fried has been convicted of multiple federal fraud and conspiracy charges, with sentencing scheduled for March.
Do you think Larry David is culpable of any wrongdoing for partaking in the FTX Super Bowl ad? Share your thoughts and opinions about this subject in the comments section below.