Buster

Endorsement Deal Requires “Dancing With The Stars” Co-Host To Stage Paparazzi Photos

What does a celebrity have to do to snag a six-figure endorsement deal for a fledgling appetite suppressing beverage? 

Well, for “Dancing With The Stars” co-host Brooke Burke--who is svelte and does not appear prone to eating binges or super-sizing--the gig involved providing a yearly minimum of six “public consumption shots” memorializing her purported use of underWAY, a weight loss drink that promises to corral your hunger pangs via vitamins and a “super fiber.”

In late-2009, Burke, 40, entered into endorsement and commercial contracts worth nearly $600,000 with Better Health Beverage, producer of underWAY. But after banking $312,500, Burke alleges in a federal lawsuit that Better Health recently defaulted on payments due to her.

As seen in this excerpt, Burke’s U.S. District Court complaint includes a description of how she was required to stage paparazzi photos showing her “holding Products in public places during each Contract Year of the Term.” She could also deliver “mention or public consumption shots” of underWAY through “tweeting, blogging, on-air mentions, press or video interviews.”

It is unclear whether Burke was contractually obligated to actually swallow the stuff, which comes in three flavors and was invented by Dr. Sasson Moulavi, who, according to the underWAY web site, has “helped thousands of patients lose millions of pounds.”