Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson has been threatened with legal action by Megan Rapinoe after she found alleged similarities between TogetherXR’s branding and the new XFL logo.
The 36-year-old USA international believes the new branding for XFL – the American Football League that Johnson recently bought from WWE chairman Vince McMahon – is too similar to TogetherXR's logo.
TogetherXR is a company Rapinoe and her wife, Sue Bird, along with US teammate Alex Morgan, snowboarder Chloe Kim, and swimmer Simone Manuel, created to help young people challenge conventional roles for women in society.
As you can see in the below Twitter posts, a number of people have called out the similaries between the designs, including OL Reign midfielder Rapinoe, who posted the following: "Welp. This is awkward.
"Only thing @TheRock and @XFL2023 are gonna be cookin up is a response to the Cease and Desist and an ENTIRE new brand ID. @togethxr got this on lock boys."
TogethXR have since released a statement accusing XFL’s new branding and logo as having "striking similarities" to their own.
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“Togethxr and its co-founders have worked tremendously hard to build a platform that uplifts women in sports and culture.
“We were disheartened to see the announcement of the XFL’s new branding and logo, which has striking similarities to our own," they said.
“It’s our mission to weave representation and equality into all that we do, which is why we’ve issued a legal notice to the XFL highlighting our concerns."
TogethXR also confirmed in an Instagram post that they have issued a legal notice.
"Too often the work and creativity of women is overlooked and undervalued," the account wrote. "Diversity and equality are the norm around here. We’re thrilled to see the XFL embrace inclusivity but this rebrand ain’t it.
"We’ve issued a legal notice and will continue to protect the important work we’re doing."
In a post on social media, Johnson's new business venture XFL say that their new "visual identity represents a new era for the forward-thinking league, signalling one of inclusivity, innovation, and co-creation as it works to build tomorrow’s league".
XFL also captioned a recent post on Instagram: "We couldn't wait for the future, so we built it ourselves. Tomorrow's league starts today."
In a post back in March last year, TogethXR's Instagram account wrote: "We got tired of waiting for someone to build it. So we did. Together."
Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson or XFL have yet to make a comment.
Topics: Megan Rapinoe, The Rock, United States
Jack Kenmare