The company that makes the Swedish underwear brand Frigo is suing former New York Yankees star Derek Jeter, saying he hurt the brand by not wanting to market to gay people. From TMZ:
"[Jeter] demanded that [Frigo] not market to the gay community and states that he did not want the Frigo brand to be 'too gay.' "
The underwear company claims it had a deal with Jeter in which he would serve as a director of the company and do major publicity events — but Jeter backed out, in part due to the marketing strategy.
Jeter told TMZ the allegations were "categorically" false and he has filed a countersuit against Frigo. For its part, a Frigo attorney said he is licking his chops to get Jeter on the stand under oath.
Frigo has also said that Jeter objected to the rapper 50 Cent being an ambassador for the underwear because it would make it "too urban."
If these claims are right, Jeter is a lousy marketer. Eliminating the black and the gay communities from underwear marketing doesn't leave a whole lot left. I am too lazy to do any research but I can state unequivocally that gay men buy proportionally a lot more underwear than straight men. As evidence, you can look in my underwear drawer filled with 2xist, Calvin Klein etc., all bought at the gay Macy's in the Beverly Center in West Hollywood.
