Prime Drink Forever Chemicals Lawsuit

About

Prime Drink Forever Chemicals Lawsuit refers to a class action lawsuit that accuses Prime Hydration (the beverage company owned by YouTubers Logan Paul and KSI) of containing "forever chemicals" like PFOS and PFAS in its grape flavor "hydration" drink. "Forever chemicals" are man-made chemicals comprised of multiple carbon and fluorine bonds, making them difficult (if not impossible) to break down naturally, hence the term "forever." In mid-2023, California resident Elizabeth Castillo filed the complaint, represented by American plaintiff law firm Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman. The lawsuit cited an independent study that reportedly found three times the amount of PFAS in its grape flavor recommended for one person's lifetime. Discourse about the lawsuit surfaced en masse in April 2024 following viral TikTok videos posted by TikToker Tommy the Lawyer (@tommythelawyer) who claimed that his firm received similar complaints including one about a young boy diagnosed with leukemia purportedly caused by drinking Prime.

Background

On August 2nd, 2023, a class action lawsuit was filed against Prime Hydration, LLC by California resident Elizabeth Castillo. The case was named Castillo v. Prime Hydration, LLC and a PDF of the 38-page case complaint was published to Bloomberg Law.^[10]

Castillo was represented by American law firm Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman who published the details of the lawsuit to its website on August 7th, 2023.^[1]

The lawsuit claimed that "Independent third-party testing… determined the presence of PFAS chemicals in Prime Hydration grape flavor." The lawsuit predominantly accuses Prime of "false advertising." The lawsuit claims that the company advertises a healthy product when, in fact, per the plaintiff's independent study, one Prime Hydration grape drink contains "approximately three times" the amount of PFAS one should consume in their lifetime, as stated on page 14 of the complaint (shown below).^[10]

"Forever chemicals," known by the abbreviation PFAS (per-and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) are man-made synthetic chemicals created to resist heat, oil, stains, grease and water. PFAS are used in many products like raincoats, for instance, to repel water. Molecularly, PFAS are characterized by multiple carbon and fluorine bonds (diagram shown below). PFAS do not break down in nature easily if at all, hence the nickname "forever chemicals." They're known to accrue over time in animals and humans. As noted by the EPA, a buildup of PFAS in a person's system is known to cause health risks like increased cancer risk.^[1][2][3]

On the website of Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman, the law firm encouraged "All persons who purchased Prime Hydration Grape Sports Drink within the United States for personal use and not for resale" to contact them.^[1]

Also, a month before the lawsuit was filed, on July 10th, 2023, United States Senator Chuck Schumer called for the FDA to investigate Prime for marketing its highly caffeinated drink to children (similar to the Senator's later demand regarding Zyn's marketing). However, Schumer's concern only centered on caffeine consumption.^[4]

Online Reactions

On August 4th, 2023, TikToker^[5] @thelawyerangela posted one of the first videos about the lawsuit, reiterating that an independent lab found that Prime grape had 300 percent the levels of PFAS accepted by the U.S. government in drinking water. Her video received roughly 1.1 million plays and 59,800 likes in eight months (shown below, left).

Discourse about the lawsuit went largely dormant until April 19th, 2024, when TikToker^[6] @tommythelawyer posted a video on the topic, receiving over 1.1 million plays and 78,000 likes in three days (since deleted).

@tommythelawyer posted another TikTok^[7] on the topic on April 20th, 2024, reiterating the independent study that found three times the recommended amount of PFAS for one lifetime present in one Prime Hydration drink. He also alleged that his firm received its own complaint about a boy who'd been diagnosed with leukemia purportedly caused by consuming Prime. Over two days, the video received roughly 16.2 million plays and 1.7 million likes (since deleted).

Discourse about the lawsuit spread to Reddit's /r/CringePurgatory.^[8] Also, on April 21st, X^[9] user @awsten, aka Awsten Knight, the lead singer of the band Waterparks, posted a video about the lawsuit, apologizing for using Prime on his tour bus. His tweet received over 2,200 likes in a day (shown below).

ALL I CAN ASK FOR IS FORGIVENESS FROM YOU AND MERCY FROM THE LORD pic.twitter.com/oA6VY6lUzR

— ST*R (@awsten) April 21, 2024

Developments

Logan Paul's Response

On April 24th, 2024, Logan Paul posted a video to his TikTok^[11] account addressing the accusations and the lawsuit, centering on TikToker @tommythelawyer's viral videos on the topic. The video received over 12.3 million plays and 1.3 million likes in a day (shown below).

In his response, Paul claimed that the third-party testing conducted by the plaintiff was inaccurate and false, citing the plaintiff's claim that one Prime Hydration grape drink contains "approximately three times" the amount of PFAS one should consume in their lifetime.

To counter, Paul cited that the EPA's PPT limit for PFAS in drinking water is 0.02 PPT,^[12] so, three times that would be 0.06 PPT, as claimed by the plaintiff's testing.^[10] Furthermore, Paul claimed that 0.06 didn't exceed the Minimum Reporting Level (MPL) for PFOS as cited by the EPA.^[13][14]

Soon after Paul's response video, TikToker @tommythelawyer deleted his videos about the Prime lawsuit.

Search Interest

External References