---
title: Can Peloton sue HBO for the portrayal of its bike?
description: Peloton stock fell sharply after an unflattering feature in HBO’s “Sex and the City” reboot, and the company may be able to take legal action.
---

[Hustle News ](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news)

# [Can Peloton sue HBO for the portrayal of its bike?](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12142021-peloton-hbo)

 Written by [Trung T. Phan](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/author/trung-t-phan) | Dec 14, 2021 10:16:39 AM

Do you plan on watching HBO’s “Sex and the City” reboot (titled “And Just Like That”)?

If so, mini-spoiler alert: the show’s first episode shows something bad happening to one of the characters after riding a Peloton.

$PTON stock fell 10%+ in the first two days after the HBO premiere.

#### **Peloton agreed for one of its instructors…**

… to be on the show, but was (obviously) unaware of the plot point, per [*CNBC*](https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/10/peloton-selloff-continues-as-sex-and-the-city-reboot-adds-to-image-issues.html).

Can Peloton sue HBO? To answer that, *The New York Times* notes there are 2 types of product [agreements](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/11/arts/television/peloton-sex-and-the-city.html?referringSource=articleShare):

- **Product placement**: A brand pays to be featured in a show or movie
- **Trademark**: A production secures the right to use a trademarked brand onscreen

Peloton hasn’t indicated its arrangement. However, under the trademark agreement, a principle called “nominative fair use” says that a product can be used as long as it’s done so in a way “consistent with the original trademark.”

A legal expert tells the *NYT *that HBO’s portrayal of the Peloton misrepresents the brand and “tarnished” its “good will to customers.”

#### **Peloton is declining legal action at the moment**

And a doctor on its health and wealth advisory council suggests the health of the show’s character would benefit — rather than be harmed — by use of the bike.

Peloton also hit back over the weekend with an [ad](https://amp.tmz.com/2021/12/12/peloton-debunks-and-just-like-that-big-death-ryan-reynolds-spoof-ad/) featuring the actor who plays the character that had the “bad thing” happen.

Ryan Reynolds narrates the video, which — spoiler alert — means it’s hilarious. And the stunt may have worked: Peloton’s stock rebounded 7%+ on Monday.

**Further reading:** We covered the economics of product placements previously, [here](https://thehustle.co/the-economics-of-movie-product-placements/).

[View full post](https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12142021-peloton-hbo)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Trung T. Phan"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2023-10-11T20:25:29.594Z",
  "datePublished" : "2021-12-14T10:16:39Z",
  "headline" : "Can Peloton sue HBO for the portrayal of its bike?",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 330,
    "url" : "https://7355427.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/7355427/The%20Hustle%20News/Assets/Images/731181123-News-Brief_2021-12-14T021140.184Z.webp",
    "width" : 600
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://hs-sbup.thehustle.co/news/12142021-peloton-hbo",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "Hustle News"
  }
}
```