Singer Jewel has filed a lawsuit against Kroger, accusing the grocer of breach of contract over a wellness festival partnership.
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According to CNN, the singer-songwriter conceived the idea for a wellness festival in collaboration with Trevor Drinkwater, CEO of Inclusion Companies. Drinkwater had already organized various celebrity-based festivals, including the Bentonville Film Festival.
Jewel and Drinkwater teamed up with Kroger on the “Wellness Your Way” festivals for five years without a formal agreement. However, there was an agreement in a June 2018 email since Drinkwater’s brand would take the financial risk.
Through the collaboration, the festivals took place between 2018 and 2021, with Jewl performing a dozen times. She also participated in 45 panel discussions during the festival.
As the festivals became more profitable, Kroger decided to replace Jewel and Drinkwater’s collaborative company with one run by the grocer’s executive, Colleen Lindholz’s sister, known as Advantage.
Advantage and Kroger then hosted two more festivals in 2022 and 2023. Jewel claimed in her lawsuit that this decision violated Kroger’s business ethics policy.
“[Lindholz] also informed [Drinkwater] that the festival had become Kroger’s premiere annual corporate event, the CEO Rodney McMullen wanted to make it part of his legacy,” the lawsuit revealed. “And Kroger needed to have ownership and control of it.”
Jewel further alleged that she and Drinkwater lost $2 million of their own money and at least $5 million in profits.
Jewel’s Lawsuit Against Kroger Has Raised Some Questions About the Resignation of Grocer’s Longtime CEO
Meanwhile, CNN further reported that the legal matter is expected to shed some light on why Kroger’s former CEO, Rodney McMullen, suddenly resigned earlier this year. McMullen, who had been with the grocer since 1978, departed following an internal investigation into his “personal conduct.”
Although McMullen wasn’t a defendant in Jewel’s lawsuit against Kroger, he was identified as a “trial witness.”
Jewel stated McMullen claimed he had not been involved in planning the festival after the collaboration was over. “That’s Colleen’s responsibility,” the former Kroger CEO told her in an email. “Please communicate with her on this.”
The former Kroger CEO and his lawyer, Jeffrey Hinebaugh, have now refused to share details about his resignation. They also requested a protective order to bar questioning on what they said was an “embarrassing” topic.
Hinebaugh even stated that there would be “incredible consequences” if details about McMullen’s resignation were to become public.
Despite the protective order request, a judge has ordered McMullen to submit details about his resignation from Kroger. He was to include the names of those involved in the situation. All documents needed to be submitted by Aug. 8.
If the court denies McMullen’s request, details about his resignation may become public, as Jewel’s legal team will likely question the ex-CEO about the “embarrassing” topic.
Trial is set for 2026.