Salt Bae, the famous “salt saint”, was sued $ 5 million for unexpected reasons

Salt Bae was accused of using the work of painter William Hicks without his permission.
Salt Bae (also known as “salt chef” or “salt saint”) is the nickname that netizens give Nusret Gökçe, a 37-year-old Turkish chef.

Gökçe is the owner of the Nusr-Et Steakhouse restaurant chain with branches in many countries around the world. Gökçe became famous after a clip of his expressive salt spraying went viral on Twitter and Instagram.

Salt Bae “Holy Salt” performs his signature salt sprinkle show at the Nusr-Et steakhouse in Manhattan. (Photo: Cole Wilson / The New York Times)

According to the New York Post, the extremely famous male chef on this social network is currently caught in a $ 5 million lawsuit due to copyright infringement by American artist William Hicks.

Specifically, William Hicks accused Salt Bae of using his work for commercial purposes without his permission.

Previously, in September 2017, Salt Bae “holy salt” hired William Hicks and colleague Josphe Iurato to make a mural of him in the famous “salt sprinkling” pose.

A painting by painter William Hicks and his colleague Josphe Iurato of Salt Bae in the famous “salt spray” pose. (Photo: NYPost)

Until early 2020, Hicks discovered that Gökçe and the male chef’s company used the image on a variety of products such as digital signage, restaurant menus, napkins, paper bags and spices. without permission from 2 original artists.

In February 2021, Gökçe launched a special line of spices for baking, and continued to use images created by the duo artists Hicks and Iurato.

Salt Bae was accused of using the work of painter William Hicks for commercial purposes without his permission. (Photo: New York Times)

“The defendants unilaterally adapt and distribute the derivative versions of the original works for display at the Nusr-et steak restaurants in many cities and countries such as Abu Dhabi, Ankara, Etiler, Mykonos and Bodrum Yalikavak Marina, “the allegation said.

Previously, Hicks sent a letter asking chef Nusr-et Gökçe to stop using the original painting in off-agreement products in April 2020.

Salt Bae “Holy Salt” became famous after the clip recording his expressive salt spraying scene went viral on Twitter, Instagram. (Photo: JERRITT CLARK / GETTY IMAGES)

However, Salt Bae and the company still “doubled the scope of violations, intentionally using images in other locations”.