Photo: Leon Bennett/Getty Images for BET
Baby Boy actor and acclaimed R&B singer Tyrese Gibson‘s beef with Home Depot has escalated to a million-dollar lawsuit! Specifically, Tyrese is suing the company over alleged racial discrimination.
Entertainment Weekly reports that it reviewed the lawsuit, and Tyrese is seeking $1 million. Additionally, the artist wants to receive damages, attorney’s fees, and a judgment declaring that Home Depot violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The case is centered around accusations that Tyrese and two members of his team — Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez — “experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling first-hand.”
Tyrese says the trio was waiting to check out at Home Depot when Gibson decided to wait in his vehicle while Mora and Hernandez completed the transaction with the actor’s credit card.
However, an issue arose, which resulted in Gibson having to engage in a “heated discussion with the cashier” via FaceTime before returning in person.
“The cashier gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating ‘store policy’ and demanded to see a form of identification. … It was only after significant heated discussion with the cashier that Gibson was finally able to complete the transaction.”
As a result, Tyrese says the Home Depot employees “purposely interfered with and refused to process the transaction based on their groundless suspicion of Gibson, Mora, and Hernandez arising from their skin color.” The lawsuit also speculates that Mora and Hernandez’s “national origin” played a factor in the alleged discrimination they faced.
“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.”
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, a Home Depot spokesperson noted that “diversity and respect for all people” is one of the company’s core values.
“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 situation in question unfolded back in February, and Tyrese spoke on it via Instagram.
He shared a screen recording of himself going back and forth with the cashier via FaceTime, who repeatedly told Tyrese that a physical ID was required due to “store policy.”
Tyrese’s gripe was due to his allegation that the situation had never been an issue in the past, and he threatened to have “the CEO of Home Depot” call the employee.
In a lengthy caption beneath the video, Tyrese wrote, “Racism is a disease.”
On Friday (Aug. 11), Tyrese uploaded another portion of the interaction and declared that he was actually seeking $450 million. However, outlets like Entertainment Weekly, PEOPLE, FOX 5 Atlanta, and others put the figure at a mere $1M.
“We envision a world free from discriminatory practices and consumer racial profiling. Just as I have done for the past 20-plus years, I pledge to continue to utilize my platform to empower the voiceless, fostering a spirit of unity and hope, while illuminating our shared path forward.”
