A company selling cannabis products has been accused of using Ricky Hatton’s death to promote its business.
Supreme CBD and some of its ambassadors have faced a backlash for shoe-horning references to its products in tributes to the late boxer.
The company markets itself on ‘providing a range of premium CBD (Cannabidiol) oils carefully crafted to meet your wellness needs’, and is endorsed by a host of celebrities.
Hatton tragically passed away at the age of 46 over the weekend after being discovered at his home at 6:45am on Sunday morning. He was found having failed to turn up at the gym and at a fight he was expected to watch. His death, which has rocked the sporting world, is not being treated as suspicious.
Hatton was an ambassador for Supreme CBD and regularly promoted the company on social media alongside other figures such as Kerry Katona, Katie Price, Paul Merson, John Aldridge, John Hartson and Matt Le Tissier.
Many of Hatton’s fellow ambassadors have shared tributes following his death, including the likes of former Wales goalkeeper Mark Crossley and Anthony Fowler, the ex-professional boxer who is the managing director and founder of Supreme CBD.
Supreme CBD has faced an online backlash following the death of boxing legend Ricky Hatton
Hatton was an ambassador for the company alongside several other high profile names
However, the company – which has previously suggested its products can help with ailments such as insomnia, anxiety and aches and pains – has come under fire after some individuals claimed they were using Hatton’s passing to promote their products.
In a video on Fowler’s Instagram page captioned: ‘Still can’t believe it, doesn’t feel real. RIP RICKY THE HITMAN HATTON’, the former boxer said: ‘I cannot get Ricky Hatton out my head. I keep thinking about when I last saw him. We had a conversation about CBD and his mental health and he was saying what a good place he was in, how he feels great, and now he’s back back training for a fight.
‘His skins great, his eczema has gone, and he said to me right, which keeps sticking in my head. There was some fella in the pub who said to him “does the CBD really work?”. And he said “I’d never say nothing that’s not going to affect someone’s mental health, I always want to help people”. He was an advocate.
‘I just can’t get my head around it all, it’s absolutely bonkers. He was my hero growing up. I wanted to be like Ricky Hatton, I went to all of his fights. He was our hero, for me and a lot of kids growing up.
‘It’s such a horrible thing, everyone’s devastated at my business. It’s so, so sad and may he rest in peace.’
One individual replied in the comments: ‘Probably not the time to keep mentioning the product your selling.’
Another added: ‘Feel sick watching this why the f*** do you have to mention CBD? Hope it’s unintentional.’
Elsewhere, Crossley posted his own tribute in a video on X that he later deleted.
Anthony Fowler posted his own tribute to Hatton on his social media page but came under fire
Former goalkeeper Mark Crossley subsequently deleted his video paying tribute to Hatton
‘It’s been a sad, sad week, we’ve lost a great sporting icon,’ he said . ‘Everybody knows he struggled with his mental health. It’s upsetting, it really is. I lost a really good friend of mine in Gary Speed so it’s important to talk, it’s important to exercise, that is really the key.
‘I take the Supreme CBD, not everybody wants to do that, I can only go and say what it’s done for me. So CBD oil, my gummies and exercise. Everybody knows I’ve had my own mental health struggles along the way as well, but it’s nice to be in a good place.
‘Take care everybody, exercise, plan it, do it, feel better for it. You got to get it in your head. Plan it, do it, feel better for it. Take care.’
Despite Crossley’s words, his tribute was interpreted differently by one individual, who said: ‘I love Mark Crossley but how f***ing empty headed can you be. “R.I.P to someone who clearly struggled with his mental health and CBD didn’t work for him but please buy it. Have some f***ing shame. Same for @afowler06, disgusting.’
Another social media user added: ‘Another one of the CBD crew has taken down their video. RIP Ricky but please buy my product. Shameless that firm.’
The official Supreme CBD X account posted their own tribute to Hatton, but that also received a backlash.
‘Shameless soft sell going on there,’ one said. ‘Only thing missing was, in loving memory of our mate Ricky, we have a buy 1 get 30 x free right up to his funeral, jog on and take that stuff with you.’
Another user added: ‘One last opportunity to use his name, eh? one word – vulgar.’ An extra individual said: ‘Who the f*** thought this was ok? The man has just passed and your using this to promote CBD. What next a CBD deal in his memory or use code HATTON40 for a discount? You horrible b*****ds.’
Supreme CBD’s own tribute to Hatton also received a backlash from social media users
Katie Price is among the other names to promote Supreme CBD’s products on social media
A further individual said: ‘s***bag ghouls,’ before another posted: ‘Horrible slimy b*****ds.’
Daily Mail Sport has contacted Supreme CBD for comment on the backlash. We are awaiting a response at the time of writing.
Supreme CBD has regularly shared success stories about their products, with the company having £3.7million in assets in their most recent accounts.
However, this is not the first time they have faced controversy. Back in February 2024, Supreme CBD was found to have breached UK Advertising Standards Authority rules.
This came after Le Tissier, Hartson and Fowler endorsed products on social media, without properly highlighting their connections to the brand.
Fowler had also previously been slammed for claiming CBD oil ‘healed’ his daughter’s cancer tumour.
Fowler revealed last year that his daughter Roma had been suffering with a tumour and that he had used CBD oil to address it, before he then shared separate posts boasting about refusing chemotherapy for her.
Former boxer Fowler has previously faced controversy in regards to Supreme CBD’s actions
Fellow ambassador Katie Price had also weighed in at the time by claiming Fowler’s daughter has been ‘healed’ after the family refused hospital treatment. There is no evidence that CBD oil can cure cancer.
Their comments sparked huge backlash as people raged that the pair were ‘irresponsible’ for suggesting CBD could shrink tumours and ‘rancid’ for using Rona’s cancer as a marketing tactic.
Fowler later clarified his comments, adding: ‘I never once said it (healing) was the CBD, but that helped her massively with pain.’
According to the Mayo Clinic, a private healthcare company in London, CBD use ‘carries some risks’ such as ‘diarrhea, reduced appetite, drowsiness and fatigue’.
Some CBD products are legal to buy as food supplements from health stores, but according to the NHS website, the ‘quality and content’ of online-sold products is unknown and they ‘may be illegal and potentially dangerous’.
The NHS acknowledges that CBD does have ‘medical benefits,’ but that there is no guarantee that even products sold in health stores will be of ‘good quality’.
Moreover, CBD can affect how other medicines work, so a specialist should always be consulted about using it in conjunction with other treatment.
Doctors would also need to monitor users regularly because it can affect the liver’.
