Tyrese Gibson and his partners, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez, are suing The Home Depot for $1 million over what they claim was a racial profiling incident that occurred at a Los Angeles-area store. The alleged incident occurred on the evening of February 11th. The lawsuit alleges that the three “subjected to outrageous discriminatory abuse and racial profiling of consumers.” Gibson estimates that he has spent at least $1 million at various Home Depot stores over the years.
The alleged incident concerned Gibson and his associates being detained at a Home Depot checkout station due to an “alleged glitch in the system.” The trio’s complaint says a “glitch” prevented them from checking in for about 20 minutes before a crowd started forming around the checkout line because of Gibson, star of the “Fast and Furious” series. He decided to leave the store and wait in his car while Mora and Hernandez waited to complete the transaction.
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According to Gibson, he reported this plan to a Home Depot cashier. The cashier “acknowledged Gibson and said he understood,” the lawsuit says, adding, “Gibson asked the cashier if the cashier needed anything else from him to complete the transaction. The cashier said no, and Gibson could leave.” But when two of Gibson’s aides attempted to use his credit card, the cashier allegedly “refused to complete the purchase.”
“The cashier offered no reasonable explanation other than repeating ‘store policy’ and demanded to see some form of ID,” the complaint says. “The manager refused to speak with Gibson personally. It was only after a heated discussion with the cashier that Gibson was finally able to complete the deal.”
The complaint adds: “The actions of the cashier and manager were discriminatory on the basis of race and origin. There is no other acceptable explanation for the plaintiffs’ ill-treatment. The transaction was denied, despite repeated authorizations from Gibson, because of the color of the plaintiffs’ skin, and, in the case of Mora and Hernandez, also because of their national origin. This is a clear and unfortunate example of discriminatory abuse and racial profiling of consumers. The treatment of Gibson, Maura and Hernandez by The Home Depot was disrespectful and insulting.”
A Home Depot spokesperson said diverse“Diversity and respect for all people are central to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form. We value Mr. Gibson as a client, and in the months since this has happened, we have reached out to him and his attorney several times to try to resolve his concerns. We will continue to do so.”
The lawsuit again stated, “Home Depot refused to accept any responsibility for discriminating against Gibson, Mora, and Hernandez, or to acknowledge the pain, humiliation, and suffering caused by the company.” “Instead, The Home Depot doubled down, got a lawyer, and treated Gibson, Maura, Hernandez, and what happened to them as deserving of no proper consideration — instead concluding that they were the problem.”
Gibson recently appeared in Fast X.
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