The ongoing beef over the ‘Taco Tuesday’ trademark is heating up after Taco Bell recruited LeBron James as part of a major ad campaign to help ‘free’ the slogan. 

The timeless catchphrase has been the center of controversy since fast food giant Taco Bell began its fight to cancel the trademark owned by a smaller, rival competitor Taco John’s since 1989. 

LeBron James has now joined Taco Bell in its efforts to cancel the ‘Taco Tuesday’ registered trademark by staring in an ad titled ‘Taco Bleep’, which first aired May 22. 

The ad is meant to highlight the absurdity of ‘Taco Tuesday’ being off-limits, according to a Taco Bell statement released Monday. 

‘Everyone should be able to say and celebrate Taco (BLEEP),’ James said in the Taco Bell ad, which bleeps every time he says ‘Tuesday.’ 

LeBron James has now joined Taco Bell in its efforts to cancel the ‘Taco Tuesday’ registered trademark, by staring in an ad titled ‘Taco Bleep’ which initially aired May 22

This isn’t the first time the basketball star has encouraged the taco community to come together in support of the ‘Taco Tuesday’ liberation movement

‘Everyone should be able to say and celebrate Taco (BLEEP),’ James said in the Taco Bell ad, which bleeps every time he says ‘Tuesday’ 

‘All restaurants, all families, all businesses – everybody,’ James said. ‘Taco Tuesdays’ create opportunities that bring people together in so many ways, and it’s a celebration that nobody should own.  

This isn’t the first time the basketball star has encouraged the taco community to come together in support of the ‘Taco Tuesday’ liberation movement.  

The 38-year-old has fought for ownership of ‘Taco Tuesday’ before, as he attempted to trademark the phrase himself after making a series of social media posts showing his family taco nights. His bid failed which has led him to take on a new strategy. 

Taco Bell says they are uniting taco enthusiasts to support their efforts to cancel the Taco Tuesday trademark registrations. 

‘Our passion for liberating ‘Taco Tuesday’ is fueled by the community of taco enthusiasts that turned two simple words into a cultural phenomenon,’ Taco Bell’s Chief Marketing Officer, Taylor Montgomery said in the press release. 

‘To see the support and excitement in response to our efforts to free ‘Taco Tuesday’ for everyone is not something we take lightly. And, much like Taco Tuesday itself, it’s better when shared.’

Taco Bell filed its legal petitions to cancel the federal trademark registrations for ‘Taco Tuesday’ via the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week, claiming the term is generic and any restaurant that makes tacos should be able to use it.

The fast-food giant filed a petition with the US Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, naturally, to get rid of the trademark owned by rival Taco John’s since 1989

Taco Bell is fighting to cancel the trademark ‘Taco Tuesday’ a smaller, rival chain has held for 34 years

Taco John’s trademarked the phrase in 1989

Both Gregory’s and Taco John’s try consistently send cease-and-desist letters to other restaurants

But the origins of the term ‘Taco Tuesday’ is not black and white. 

For years, restaurants nationwide have celebrated this weekly occasion dedicated to tacos, but the question of ownership and legal rights has remained ambiguous. 

One of the earliest restaurants to use the phrase was Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar, in the Jersey Shore town of Somers Point, which trademarked the phrase Taco Tuesday in the 1982. 

About 1,200 miles away, in St. Paul, Minnesota, The owner of Taco John’s franchise came up with a similar idea in 1979, dubbing the special ‘Taco Twosday,’ according to the company. 

Taco John’s trademarked the phrase in 1989. The two companies clashed but agreed to let Gregory’s keep the trademark for New Jersey because it didn’t intend on expanding out of the state, Gregory said. 

The spicy dispute has continued over the years. Both Gregory’s and Taco John’s consistently send cease-and-desist letters to other restaurants, according to the Wall Street Journal. Gregory said he has sent around 40 while Taco John’s said he can’t keep track. 

‘No one knows who invented Taco Tuesday,’ Gustavo Arellano, author of ‘Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America,’ said to the Wall Street Journal. 

The actual phrase ‘Taco Tuesday’ came later, he said. The earliest documented use Arellano found is a 1971 newspaper advertisement for a restaurant in Spokane, Wash.

‘At some point, people realized, ‘Oh, it’s alliterative! Taco Tuesday, that makes so much sense. Let’s put it on there,’ said Arellano, who is also a columnist with the Los Angeles Times. ‘And then other people started spreading it around.’  

Gregory’s Restaurant & Bar, in Somers Point, was of the earliest restaurants to use the phrase and trademarked it in 1982

For years, restaurants nationwide have celebrated this weekly occasion dedicated to tacos, but the question of ownership and legal rights has remained ambiguous

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben said Taco Bell has a strong case, given how difficult it is to protect such a common term. 

Trademark attorney Josh Gerben said Taco Bell has a strong case, given how difficult it is to protect such a common term.

‘Taco Bell could have a strong case as US trademark law ‘prevents the registration of common phrases or phrases that become commonplace after a registration is granted’, according to trademark attorney Josh Gerben.

‘Taco Tuesday’ ‘has become a cultural phenomenon with a long history of being used by individuals and companies other than the current owner of the trademark,’ he said. 

And Taco John’s defense of having invented the phrase may not be enough as it is ‘widely used by Americans in a way that has nothing to do with the defendant’s restaurant’, Gerben said.

If the Taco Tuesday trademark case goes to trial, a decision likely wouldn’t be made until 2025.