True Nutra ran a TikTok creator's videos in 12 Meta ads — she sued for copyright

On October 9, 2026, North Carolina creator Amber Jordan Holston sued R5 Brands LLC, which sells supplements as True Nutra, in the US District Court for the Western District of North Carolina (case 3:26-cv-00856-KDB-MTO). According to the complaint, the company ran her face, voice and four videos she filmed, published and copyrighted — originally made to promote a different company's supplement — in at least 12 active paid Meta advertisements for a product she never used, reviewed or endorsed.

The four works were published June 29–30, 2026 and registered with the Copyright Office on August 25 and September 2, inside the 90-day window that keeps statutory damages and fees available. The complaint pleads copyright infringement, misappropriation of name and likeness under North Carolina common law, and the state's Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which allows treble damages. Statutory damages run $750–$30,000 per work, or up to $150,000 if willful — $600,000 maximum across four videos; the 12-ad figure does not multiply the award, but feeds the willfulness allegations.

A screenshot in the filing shows a sponsored 'True Nutra Health' post marked 'Ad' with a 'Shop now' button and a caption beginning 'Your blood sugar will be balanced…'. The complaint does not say whether the 12 ads are different edits of the four videos or when True Nutra's ads began, and it identifies no owners, revenue or ad history for the Wyoming LLC. No response from R5 Brands is part of the document, and none of the claims has been tested in court.

Federal suit in Charlotte seeks statutory damages of up to $600K if willfulness is proven, treble damages under North Carolina law, profits and injunctions.

The reuse sat outside the creator economy's three standard arrangements — brand deal, licensed usage rights, paid amplification: footage shot for one client ran as a second brand's ad creative.

The ads created what the complaint calls a false impression that she endorses True Nutra, attaching her likeness and voice to a blood-sugar supplement she had never taken.

By pleading the three-month window, the complaint keeps statutory damages, fees and treble state-law damages even if the ads predate registration.

A creator video carries two layers of rights — the footage's copyright and the person's face and voice. Running clips shot for one brand in your own ads clears neither.

Holston seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions, an accounting of profits, punitive damages on the likeness count, treble damages and attorney's fees, with a jury trial demanded. Meta is not a defendant. Counsel for R5 Brands is not identified in the filing, which is nine pages; no hearing date is recorded in the material.