Scandal-hit life of £262m BrewDog boss James Watt…fraud case, beer sold in dead squirrels & romance with Georgia Toffolo

HE is BrewDog's colourful co-founder who has just announced his engagement to Georgia Toffolo, one of the country's best known reality stars.

However, while the couple have found their happy ever after, James Watt's career has been anything but a fairytale.

Since launching BrewDog in 2007 with Martin Dickie, he has revolutionised the craft beer scene but his journey has been marred by scandals, controversies and legal battles.

From allegations of toxic workplace culture to clashes with several former employees, his path to success has ignited conversations about corporate responsibility and appropriate workplace behaviours.

Despite his setbacks, he has managed to steer the brand into a profitable multi-million enterprise.

Here, we look at some of the most shocking controversies of James' career.

Controversies

From its inception, BrewDog struck gold with its marketing, from laddish humour that pushed the limits to disruptive tactics that shook up the industry.

The brand quickly won several awards and secured deals with some of the country's biggest supermarkets.

But it did not take too long for James to find himself in hot water.

In 2009, a drink called Speed Ball was yanked off the shelves after being accused of promoting a cocktail of drugs that mixes cocaine and heroin. The deadly combination has killed many, including actors John Belushi and River Phoenix.

Drinks marketing watchdog, The Portman Group, upheld a complaint from Alcohol Focus Scotland, which raised concerns about the name promoting the illicit drugs.

In 2010, the brand was hit with yet another scandal when it began to serve beers inside the dead bodies of animals.

The shocking stunt did not go down well with animal activists, who branded it as "cheap" and "degrading".

At 55% ABV, and called the world's strongest beer, only 12 bottles of the drinks were made. The drinks came in the bodies of roadkill including squirrels, weasels and a hare.

James told American news media at the time: "We were making such a tiny amount that we wanted to do something epic.

"We wanted to challenge people's perceptions about how beer can be packaged; taxidermy helps open people's eyes to the fact that beer doesn't have to be made by a multi-national organisation."

Over the next few years, the brand's marketing ploy continued to spark fury. For Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, they created a beer that contained Viagra and horny goat weed.

They also hired a person with dwarfism to protest a 300-year-old rule about beer being served in third, half, or full-pint measures. They called it "the world's smallest protest."

The brand was also criticised for using strong, offensive language on its website. Foul-mouthed messaging used included "motherf****r", "t**s", and "bas***d."

In 2014, the brand made a foray into the political landscape and targeted Russia's ban on "homosexual propaganda". The brand created a drink called Hello My Name is Vladimir.

The drink was also said to not be "for the gays" and featured pictures of Russian president Vladimir Putin in Andy Warhol-style photos.

In 2015, James was embroiled in a huge transphobic scandal when 8,000 people signed a petition to ban BrewDog's Don’t Make Us Do This... Equity for Punks ad campaign.

It featured James and his co-founder posing as drag queens in a red-light district background. Campaigners said it was "offensive caricatures of people who already suffer discrimination".

BrewDog was accused of bullying in 2017 when it named one of its drinks Lone Wolf. The brand threatened a pub with the same name with legal action.

The owners insisted that although they named their pub way before the drinks were launched, they decided not to fight the lawsuit due to the financial strain it could cause.

In 2020, there was further backlash when an ad campaign promoting its alcohol-free beer featured the tagline "Sober as a Motherfu" (you get the idea).

Several complaints were made to the Advertising Standards Authority, calling the advert inappropriate and offensive. Although some people saw it as dark humour, the ASA upheld the complaints.

Toxic work environment

In 2021, BrewDog faced serious allegations from former employees who accused the company of fostering a toxic work culture.

In an open letter published by the group “Punks With Purpose,” ex-staff members claimed BrewDog had created a “culture of fear” where workers were “treated like objects”.

It was also claimed that employees were often pressured to overwork without sufficient support or respect.

The letter alleged that BrewDog prioritized rapid expansion and aggressive marketing over the well-being of its employees, leading to burnout and low morale.

One statement from the letter described the BrewDog workplace as “built around a personality cult” that tolerated bullying and intimidation to meet business goals.

Former employees reported that leadership’s demands often left them feeling “exploited and psychologically unsafe,” claiming that dissenting voices were either dismissed or met with hostility.

One former manager recounted feeling “scared to speak up” and described an environment where workers were “expendable.”

In response, James apologised for some of the issues. He told the BBC: "It's very clear, looking at the feedback, we haven't always got things right here.

"We have to see this feedback as an opportunity to get better. We have to learn, we have to act. We have to take it on the chin."

He added: "For me, it's not about disputing individual claims. But 60 people were unhappy and we have to get better. That's the only way we can get something good out of this situation."

'Inappropriate behaviour' claims

In January 2022, James found himself in further trouble when it emerged that several former employees had accused him of inappropriate behaviour.

Former BrewDog USA employees told the BBC's Disclosure program that James' actions had left female bartenders feeling "powerless" and "uncomfortable".

In an investigative documentary, several employees alleged that James was seen kissing an intoxicated female customer on a roof terrace bar.

It was also claimed that female workers were briefed on how to avoid unwanted attention from James. One bartender noted that she felt "powerless" to avoid his advances.

It was also alleged that managers tried to organise their rota so certain female staff members could be off when James was around.

Dylan Gray, who managed BrewDog Franklington in Ohio, said: "I would schedule more men at nights when he was there. I would sit behind the bar with female staff so they wouldn't feel uncomfortable."

James also allegedly made staff feel uncomfortable by taking women on late-night private brewery tours.

One employee, Katelynn Insing, said she would often advise new female workers to dress down whenever James was visiting.

She said: "We would make a point to warn new girls - like, 'Hey, just so you know, James Watt's coming to town.

"Just, kind of, leave after your shift, don't really hang around [and] don't always do your hair and makeup that day, like don't catch his attention.'"

She also spoke about the alleged private tours. "Sometimes there would be one woman, sometimes there would be a gaggle of women," she said.

"They were always intoxicated, they were in their twenties usually. They were very pretty and he would say he's taking them on a private tour of the brewery."

James' lawyer denied the claims and told the BBC: "Mr Watt regularly takes both women and men, friends and customers on evening tours of the brewery.

"It is not true to say that those who accompany him are intoxicated. The claim that he did was made by an employee in June 2021.

"It was fully investigated - the claims were not substantiated - no further action was warranted by Brewdog USA HR."

Lawsuit against ex

Last year, James brought a criminal fraud case against his ex-girlfriend, Emeli Ziem, alleging fraud and malicious communications.

It came after a civil court ruling last year that determined that she had improperly convinced him to pay her £100,000 in Bitcoin.

However, she was cleared of criminal fraud after James' lawyers failed to provide sufficient evidence.

His legal representatives claimed that although they had an "overwhelming" case, they had decided to withdraw it as they had already won the civil case.

James claimed he wanted to move past the case and focus on his family and business.

Emeli, on the other hand, insisted that the outcome of the case was fair as James' claims were "fictitious". She said: "I don't think anyone involved was surprised by the result."

The judge in the civil case concluded that she had set up social media pages to spread lies about James online. Emeli then contacted James to claim she could unmask the trolls behind the accounts.

It was said that she made him pay £25,000 a time to uncover their identities.

According to Insider, Emeli was ordered to repay the £100,000 and £500,000 in expenses in the civil case.

Gold scandal and living wage row

Last year, James said he paid £500,000 after misleading customers about a "solid gold" beer can promotion.

The 2021 marketing strategy encouraged people to find the special cans hidden in beer cases. But some winners began raising eyebrows when it was discovered that the cans were gold-plated.

In response, James said he "misunderstood the process of how they were made" and made a "silly mistake" by informing fans that they were solid gold.

The Advertising Standards Authority ruled that he had misled customers.

Speaking about the repercussions, James wrote on LinkedIn: "Those were 3 very expensive mistaken tweets that I sent out in my enthusiasm for our new campaign.

"The Gold Can saga was headline news. We were made to look dishonest and disingenuous and we took a real hammering online and in the press. Deservedly so. My initial tweets had been misleading and we deserved the flak."

This year, James and BrewDog came under fire once again.

This time, he was slammed after he decided to stop paying his workers the real living wage. From April this year, new workers get £11.44 per hour.

Employees in London also get £11.95. While both are considered below the real living wage, they are above the national minimum wage.

In response to the backlash, BrewDog said it felt its vow to pay employees more than was required by UK law was no longer attainable.

Increased manufacturing costs and energy prices were blamed for the decision.

A letter to staff read: "Even with [a] strong performance over Christmas, as a wider business there is no hiding from the fact that in 2023, we made a trading loss, and despite many efforts in the past 12 months to reduce our spending, we still need to find more ways to get this business back to profitability and the financial stability that is needed.

"Inevitably, this does mean making some hard decisions."

In March this year, many were taken aback when James announced his decision to leave BrewDog after 17 years in charge.

Despite leaving his CEO role, James clarified that he will remain a board member and director and a part-time strategic adviser to the business.

Georgia Romance

James and Georgia have been dating since last year after they were introduced by a mutual friend, according to Hello! Magazine.

Since then, they have become inseparable. Georgia has shared several snaps of them on holiday and romantic dates.

James says he proposed to her while they were on holiday in Greece for her 30th birthday.

Gushing about the joyous moment, he said: "She said yes! With an abundance of smiles, happiness, love & family, [Georgia] & I got engaged on Friday in Greece.

He added: "Georgia - I am so grateful that we managed to find each other and even more grateful to be building our lives together."

Georgia, best known for her time as a cast member on Channel 4's Made In Chelsea, said the proposal was the "best moment" of her life "so far".

She said: "The easiest, quickest yes to being your wife. Our love story is my favourite. How we managed to find each other out of billions of people out there will always be my greatest blessing.

"I love you forever and the magical life we're building."

In snaps, she showed off the huge engagement ring he gave her.