Couple who celebrated engagement at Kentucky Castle sue over potential hidden cameras

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A Virginia couple who celebrated their 2025 engagement at the Kentucky Castle in Versailles have filed a potential class-action lawsuit over allegations that cameras may have been hidden on the property by bourbon entrepreneur Wes Henderson.

Henderson had been CEO of the Kentucky Castle’s parent company, TKC Hospitality Group, and its partner, TKC Distilling, until he was abruptly fired in October. Henderson, who apparently retains an ownership stake in the company, was fired after the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that family members have accused him in a sealed lawsuit of secretly filming them and others in private moments, including at the Kentucky Castle.

Henderson has denied the allegations in a statement through an attorney and no criminal charges have been filed. Homeland Security has confirmed that it is investigating.

No response to the lawsuit, which was filed Thursday, has been filed. Attorneys for Henderson and for the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

But in a statement issued Thursday afternoon through a public relations agency that represents Henderson, The Kentucky Castle and TKC Hospitality, TKC Hospitality said it “unequivocally rejects the allegations suggesting that guests were secretly recorded while staying at our property.”

TKC Hospitality also said it “has not been contacted by law enforcement or notified of any investigation concerning allegations of unauthorized recording of guests at The Kentucky Castle. Should any such investigation arise, we would fully cooperate with the appropriate authorities. While we cannot comment on the specifics of pending litigation, we categorically reject any suggestion that The Kentucky Castle or anyone associated with the property permitted, participated in or concealed the unlawful recording activity alleged.”

Henderson is a Kentucky Bourbon Hall of Fame member best known as the founder of Angel’s Envy, which was sold for a reported $150 million to Bacardi in 2015. In 2023, Henderson purchased The Kentucky Castle in Versailles in Woodford County, a wedding and tourist destination with a hotel and restaurant, and launched a new whiskey brand, True Story, with plans to build a $92 million distillery nearby. Those plans are on hold.

Now a Virginia couple, Brandi and Shawn Cupp, have filed a lawsuit in Woodford Circuit Court against Henderson, TKC Distilling and TKC Hospitality Group on behalf of themselves and other former guests. They are seeking to have it certified as a class-action lawsuit representing anyone who stayed at The Kentucky Castle between June 1, 2025, and Oct. 2, 2026.

The lawsuit filed by family members of Henderson in Oldham Circuit Court has been sealed. According to the filing, family members discovered hidden cameras in Henderson’s vacation home in Florida and later in Henderson’s home in Kentucky in June 2025. Some of the cameras were capable of WiFi communication and some had SD cards that contained footage of approximately 40 people, some in various states of undress or participating in sex acts.

In a footnote, the filing said, “Some of the videos were from SD cards that captured sex at the Kentucky Castle which is connected to a business interest of the Defendant Wes Henderson.”

The family members confronted Henderson in 2025 and turned the evidence over to “local authorities,” but the lawsuit was not filed against him until June 2026, according to the filing.

The more recent Woodford County lawsuit seeks redress for guests who stayed there before the existence of the footage was made public.

“Any concealed camera or recording device capable of secretly observing, photographing, filming, or recording guests in private areas of The Kentucky Castle constituted an unreasonable and latent danger to Plaintiffs and other business invitees,” according to the Woodford lawsuit.

“The allegations surrounding The Kentucky Castle raise serious concerns about the privacy and safety of guests who trusted the hotel with their accommodations,“ Tad Thomas, attorney for the Cupps, said in a statement. “Despite our efforts to obtain information, significant questions remain about whether hidden recording devices were present at the property and what steps were taken to investigate the allegations.

“The civil court system provides an avenue to uncover the facts, obtain evidence and determine what actually happened. Our goal is to get to the truth and provide answers not only to our clients, but also to other guests who may have been affected and share these same concerns.”

An attorney for TKC Hospitality has said that the hotel and restaurant property, which includes guest rooms, a spa and pool area, as well as restrooms and other accommodations, has been searched and that no recording devices were found. But TKC Hospitality has not released any details on when the search was conducted or what areas were searched.

The Cupps stayed at The Kentucky Castle on Nov. 28 and 29, 2025, according to the Woodford County lawsuit. While there, they had engagement photos taken and dined at the restaurant both nights.

“Engagement photographs are inherently emotionally meaningful for a couple, as they were to Plaintiffs Brandi and Shawn, and intended to be a celebration of their upcoming union and a cherished memento to look back on in years to come,” the lawsuit says.

After learning of the Oldham County sealed lawsuit, the couple and their attorneys attempted to investigate.

“Those efforts have not yielded information establishing whether Plaintiffs were recorded, the nature or scope of any recordings made at The Kentucky Castle, the locations of any recording devices, the dates on which any devices were installed or removed, the persons recorded, or the identities of any persons who viewed, possessed, copied, transferred, or distributed recordings,” the lawsuit says.

They are hoping to uncover more information through discovery for their lawsuit.

“Plaintiffs anticipate that discovery will reveal additional information concerning Defendant Henderson’s conduct; the ownership, operation, access, inspection, supervision, and security of The Kentucky Castle; Defendants’ respective knowledge; the scope of any recordings; and the persons injured by Defendants’ conduct. Plaintiffs further anticipate that discovery will reveal the nature and extent of the ‘coverup’ in which the Defendants have been engaged until Oct. 2nd, 2026,” the lawsuit said.

An executive of the Kentucky Castle said in an email to staff that no guests were filmed “in their room.”

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