16,000 People Invested $1 Each in a Jesus Show — Then Got Cashed Out at $3.75
A class action lawsuit filed in Delaware's Court of Chancery has placed The Chosen — the record-breaking crowdfunded TV drama about the life of Jesus — at the center of a fierce legal battle over equity crowdfunding investor rights. The plaintiff alleges that 5&2 Studios executed a reverse stock split that forcibly cashed out more than 16,000 small investors at $3.75 per share, that the decisive vote was held during Holy Week when 80% of Series B shareholders were absent, and that Goldman Sachs' $52.9 million valuation was roughly one-third of the plaintiff's own $150 million estimate. Co-founder Dallas Jenkins has issued a categorical denial, calling any suggestion of impropriety "categorically false" and expressing eager confidence that court review will vindicate the company in full. Beyond the individual dispute, this case exposes a critical structural gap in SEC Regulation Crowdfunding: a framework that has facilitated over $1 billion in capital formation since 2016 yet provides virtually zero protection for minority shareholders against reverse-split squeeze-outs.