Tyrese Gibson and his associates, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez, are suing The Home Depot for $1 million over what they declare was a racial profiling incident that came about at a Los Angeles-area retailer. The alleged incident came about on the night of Feb. 11. The lawsuit claims the trio had been “subjected to outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling.” Gibson estimates he’s spent at least $1 million at numerous Home Depot shops through the years.
The alleged incident concerned Gibson and his two associates being held up at a Home Depot checkout station because of a “purported glitch in the system.” The trio’s criticism says “the glitch” prevented them from testing for round 20 minutes earlier than a crowd began to kind across the checkout line because of Gibson, a star of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. He determined to depart the shop and wait in his automotive whereas Mora and Hernandez waited to finish the transaction.
According to Gibson, he communicated this plan to the Home Depot cashier. The cashier allegedly “acknowledged Gibson and said he understood,” the lawsuit says, including: “Gibson asked the cashier if the cashier needed anything further from him to complete the transaction. The cashier said no, and that Gibson could leave.” But when Gibson’s two associates tried to make use of his bank card, the cashier allegedly “refused to complete the purchase transaction.”
“The cashier gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating ‘store policy’ and demanded to see a form of identification,” the criticism says. “The manager refused to speak with Gibson in person. It was only after significant heated discussion with the cashier that Gibson was finally able to complete the transaction.”
The criticism provides, “The actions of the cashier and manager were discriminatory based on race and origin. There is no other plausible explanation for the mistreatment of Plaintiffs. The transaction was refused, despite Gibson’s repeated authorizations, because of Plaintiffs’ skin color and, in the case of Mora and Hernandez, also because of their national origin. This is a clear and deplorable instance of discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling. The treatment of Gibson, Mora and Hernandez by The Home Depot was humiliating and demeaning.”
A Home Depot spokesperson informed Variety, “Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form. We value Mr. Gibson as a customer, and in the months since this happened, we’ve reached out to him and his attorneys several times to try to resolve his concerns. We will continue to do so.”
“The Home Depot has refused to take any responsibility for discriminating against Gibson, Mora and Hernandez, or to acknowledge the pain, humiliation and anguish caused by the company,” the lawsuit fires again. “Instead, The Home Depot doubled down, lawyered-up, and treated Gibson, Mora and Hernandez and what happened to them as not worthy of any due consideration – instead inferring that they are the problem.”
Gibson most lately appeared in “Fast X.”
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