Johnny Cash Estate Suing Coca Cola For Confusing Ad

The Dirt

Johnny Cash, June Carter UNDATED: (FILE PHOTO) Country musicians Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash hold their infant son John Carter Cash in a promotional portrait for the film "A Gunfight," directed by Lamont Johnson in this photo from 1970. Johnny Cash died September 12, 2003 in a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee while being treated for a stomach complaint. He was 71. (Photo by Paramount Pictures/Getty Images) (Getty Images/Getty Images)

By Erik & Jenny

The estate of Johnny Cash is suing Coca Cola, for stealing his voice for an ad campaign - sort of. The song used in the commercial is NOT a Johnny Cash song and the performer is a Johnny Cash impersonator. The estates lawyer said:

“Stealing the voice of an artist is theft and It is theft of his integrity, identity and humanity.”

The suit was filed under Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, which was signed into law in 2024. ELVIS is an acronym for Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security Act, and the bill was mostly meant to protect artists against AI copycats.

Through the years NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE - APRIL 22: Kellie Pickler performs onstage during Walkin' After Midnight: The Music Of Patsy Cline at Ryman Auditorium on April 22, 2024 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images) (Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

Kelli Pickler just won a legal victory over the parents of her late husband (her husband passed from a self-inflicted gunshot in 2023). Her in-laws issued a subpoena over a list of their son’s personal items that they wanted Pickler to hand over to them including:

  • A large gun collection.
  • A gun safe.
  • Several expensive watches and cuff links, along with other jewelry excluding his wedding ring.
  • Various guitars and a piano.
  • Electronic devices.
  • School awards, baseball cards and more personal items. The judge sided with Kelli and said that she didn’t have to give them those things. After her husband died in 2023, Kelli declined to be the administrator of his estate, and that job went to his parents. Apparently, they went into Pickler’s house and took things without asking, which led her to file suit against them, kicking off this on-going legal battle.