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Tyrese Gibson has filed a lawsuit against Home Depot, claiming that he and his employees were racially profiled in one of their stores.
The Fast & Furious franchise actor filed the lawsuit on Wednesday (Aug. 9) in Los Angeles Superior Court, according to Fox LA. Eric Mora and Manual Hernandez, two construction laborers who work for the actor, are also named as plaintiffs in the civil rights lawsuit. In the filing, Gibson accuses Home Depot of negligent supervision, hiring and retention while seeking $1 million in compensatory damages in addition to punitive damages.
The alleged incident took place Feb. 11 at a Home Depot store location in the West Hills neighborhood. The 44-year-old, not wanting to cause a commotion, sent Mora and Hernandez in with his credit card to pay for selected items while he went to his car. He returned to the store when he learned that the cashier refused to complete the transaction, who “gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating store policy and demanded to see a form of identification,” according to the suit. The manager declined to speak to Gibson, and the transaction was finally completed only after a heated confrontation.
Gibson, as “one of the most recognizable Black actors and musicians in the United States, and his associates … experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling first-hand inside the Home Depot retail store in West Hills,” the suit stated. “The company needs to understand that there are consequences for discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling.”
A spokesperson for Home Depot issued a statement shortly after news of the lawsuit emerged. “Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form,” it began. “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.”