Estate Of Johnny Cash Reportedly Launches Lawsuit Against Coca-Cola

The estate of Johnny Cash reportedly sued Coca-Cola, alleging they hired a tribute singer to imitate Cash’s voice for a college football ad without authorization.

The case was brought under Tennessee’s new ELVIS Act, which protects voices from being exploited. The federal complaint was filed Tuesday in Nashville, and is the first major case to come under Tennessee’s Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act (ELVIS) Act, according to Billboard.

The ELVIS Act expanded the state’s statutory right of publicity to protect a person’s voice from being exploited, and was enacted in 2024.

American country singer and songwriter Johnny Cash (1932 – 2003) in London, 4th July 1994. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)

The John R. Cash Revocable Trust, manager of Cash’s estate, cited a song in a commercial, which has been airing during college football games since August.

The court filing claims the voice in the advertisement sounds “remarkably” like Cash’s, and alleges that the performer belting out the tunes is Shawn Barker, a professional Cash tribute performer.

Attorney Tim Warnock of Loeb & Loeb, representing the estate wrote “Stealing the voice of an artist is theft. It is theft of his integrity, identity and humanity,” according to Billboard.

Johnny Cash performs on stage at Glastonbury Festival, June 1994. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)

“The trust brings this lawsuit to protect the voice of Johnny Cash – and to send a message that protects the voice of all of the artists whose music enriches our lives.”

The estate does license the late singer’s intellectual property but claimed Coca-Cola “never even bothered to ask the trust for a license” in the case of this ad where they used a voice sounding like Cash that aired during college football games.”

They previously authorized the use of Cash’s songs “Ragged Old Flag,” and “Personal Jesus” to other organizations, and they were used in Super Bowl telecasts with express authorization, according to Billboard.

The complaint continued, “This case arises from Coca-Cola’s pirating Johnny Cash’s voice in a nationwide advertising campaign to enrich itself – without asking for permission or providing any compensation to the humble man and artist who created the goodwill from which Coca-Cola now profits.”

Sänger JOHNNY CASH In der Show: ‘Freddy Quinn und seine Freunde’ (1980). (Photo by kpa/United Archives via Getty Images)

The ELVIS act was intended to protect artists against artificial intelligence fakes and clones.

The legal complaint against Coca-Cola does not allege AI was used in the commercial, according to Billboard. (RELATED: Campbell’s VP Martin Bally Reportedly Mocks ‘Poor People’ Who Buy His Company’s ‘Shit’ Food)

The John R. Cash Revocable Trust is seeking a court injunction to remove the ad from airing. They’re also seeking financial damages.