Wearing Dior was a major mistake from Charlize Theron, and resulted in a lawsuit worth millions.

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HIGHLIGHTS

 Charlize Theron breached a contract with a watchmaker by wearing Dior jewelry, costing her millions in a legal settlement.

Nowadays, Charlize Theron is one of the highest-paid actresses in the entire world. It’s hard to believe that her acting career only started because of an argument with a bank teller or that, before breaking into Hollywood, she only had $400 to her name.

After all, she’s starred in major film franchises like Mad Max and The Fast and the Furious. Plus, she’s received various awards over the years, including ​​an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

After starring in so many popular movies, it’s no wonder that Charlize Theron has a massive net worth. Believe it or not, the actress has made millions out of endorsement deals over the years.

From Cartier to Chopard, many major brands have paid over six figures for Theron to wear their products. But a couple of years ago, a wardrobe mishap caused the actress to breach a major contract. This ended up costing Theron millions of dollars in a legal settlement.

Not only was Aeon Flux a complete flop, but an accident on-set almost ended Charlize Theron’s career.

A Luxury Watchmaker Sued Charlize Theron For Wearing Dior Jewelry

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Over the years, Charlize Theron has made millions out of endorsement deals. For instance, in 2005, the actress was paid $3 million to endorse Swiss jewelry maker Raymond Weil. The multi-million dollar deal stated that Theron would exclusively wear Weil’s watches between October 2005 and December 2006. Moreover, the Atomic Blonde star was barred from endorsing or advertising jewelry from any other company during that period.

Ultimately, Theron broke her contract. Around the same time she signed her contract with Weils, the actress also signed an endorsement deal to promote Dior’s J’Adore perfume.

As part of the marketing campaign, Theron wore jewelry from Dior in a video and a photo shoot that were later posted on the brand’s website. She was later photographed wearing a watch from the newest Christian Dior line at a popular film festival.

Moreover, between 2005 and 2006, Theron also promoted Montblanc jewelry during a marketing campaign for the brand. The actress was paid $200,000 to wear jewelry and baubles from Chopard to the 2006 Oscars and sported Cartier jewelry at that year’s Golden Globes Awards.

This was a clear breach of her contract which led to Weils filing a $20 million lawsuit against Theron.

Charlize Theron Ended Up Losing In Court

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A New York District Court judge dismissed most parts of Raymond Weil’s lawsuit against Charlize Theron. So, the judge advised both parties to take part in a pre-trial settlement conference rather than go into a lengthy court battle.

Theron tried to get out of the lawsuit by claiming that her management company, Denver & Delilah Films, Inc., had struck the deal, and, since she only signed as an agent of the company, she couldn’t be held personally liable. But the judge quickly shot this down.

“Theron is the owner of DDF and therefore exercised considerable control over its corporate decisions. The agreement was only ten pages long, and Theron marked every page with her initials,” the judge stated.

“Indeed, Theron even testified that she personally participated in the negotiations for the contract.”

David Letterman went overboard asking Charlize Theron about the details of her Vogue shoot.

Ultimately, the judge ruled that the Monster star’s wardrobe choices were a wrong call. “By wearing a … Dior watch at a film festival, Theron breached her covenant not to ‘wear publicly any other watches than RW,’” the judge stated, citing the original agreement she’d signed with Weils.

“Theron recognizes as much, calling her decision to wear the watch ‘regrettable.’ It was more than ‘regrettable’; it was a clear breach of the Agreement.”

The Hollywood star had no choice but to accept that she breached her contract with Weils. Rather than going through a lengthy trial, Theron agreed to settle the $20 million lawsuit. It’s unclear how much the actress ended up paying Weils, but it’s clear that it was at least $3 million, as that was the sum originally paid to Theron by the watchmaker.

How Much Money Has Charlize Theron Made from Endorsement Deals?

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Nowadays, Charlize Theron has an impressive $160 million fortune. Most of her current wealth comes from her work as an actress. After all, Theron typically makes over $10 million per movie. In addition to this, Theron has made millions as a producer in films such as Atomic Blonde (2017), Bombshell (2019), and The Old Guard (2020).

Moreover, the movie star has made millions through brand endorsements. In fact, Theron has signed one of the most expensive endorsement deals of all time with none other than Dior. Back in the day, the South African signed an 11-year-long contract with the luxury brand to promote their J’Adore perfume line. With an annual payout of $5 million, Theron ended up making $55 million from this one deal alone.

The Oscar-winner boosted the label’s sales so much that the contract was further extended. All in all, Theron is said to have made between $70 and $80 million from her long-time partnership with Dior. While this is her biggest contract to date, this is not Theron’s only major endorsement deal.