Filmmaker Michael Bay Sues Cadillac F1 Team for $1.5 Million Over ‘Stolen’ Ideas
Filmmaker Michael Bay has filed a $1.5 million lawsuit against the Cadillac Formula 1 team. He claims the race team stole his ideas for their Super Bowl commercial.
The 19-page breach-of-contract and fraud lawsuit was filed on Friday in Los Angeles. According to The Athletic, Michael Bay claims that Dan Towriss, the Cadillac F1 owner and CEO, and his team “have apparently stolen” his “ideas and work for the commercial, without paying for them.”
Michael Bay claims the Cadillac F1 team ripped off his ideas
Bay, best known for directing the Transformers film series, also claims in the lawsuit that Towriss contacted him on Nov. 28, 2025, to produce and direct the Super Bowl commercial. The Armageddon director said he and his team began working “nearly nonstop” on the project after Towriss approved his sales pitch.
The lawsuit also claims “Bay and his team worked tirelessly around the clock to prepare for this production. Bay personally pulled an all-nighter that evening, putting together various ideas for the project.”
The complaint alleges that “throughout this process, Defendants and their agents worked with Bay and Bay’s team as if Bay had in fact been hired for the project.”
On Dec. 6, Michael Bay says he was informed Cadillac was going to “go in a different direction.” However, Bay claims, the Cadillac F1 team instead just “stole” his ideas and concepts.
“They planned all along to rip him off. They wanted a ‘Michael Bay’ commercial, in other words, at a bargain-basement price,” the lawsuit alleges.
The Cadillac F1 team responds to Michael Bay’s $1.5 million lawsuit
“Michael Bay is a cinematic genius, and we talked with him about directing our Super Bowl ad. But after two meetings, it became clear he couldn’t meet our timeline, and there ultimately wasn’t a path forward,” a spokesperson for Cadillac F1 said in a statement to The Athletic. “It’s unclear why he’s bringing this claim, since the concept and creative were already developed, and we were only exploring him as a director.”
The Cadillac F1 spokesperson added, “We’re confident this will be resolved appropriately. Even so, we still admire Michael Bay’s creative brilliance and would welcome the opportunity to work together in the future.”
Bay is seeking $1.5 million in director’s and producer’s fees, as well as punitive damages.
