Marlon Wayans alleges racial discrimination in legal battle with United Airlines
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Marlon Wayans is demanding the dismissal of his pending case with United Airlines, citing racial discrimination as the crux of his lawsuit.
On Thursday (Oct. 19), Wayans’ legal team submitted a court filing. They asserted that the actor and comedian faced unjust treatment during an altercation at Denver International Airport in June.
The Fifty Shades of Black entertainer was slated to fly to Kansas City when a gate agent allegedly tried to block his entrance to the plane. The decision came after Wayans reportedly consolidated his three bags into two, aligning with the company’s baggage policy. According to the filing, the employee didn’t extend the same scrutiny to white passengers by allowing many to board the plane with three or more bags.
“The City of Denver’s position is an affront to constitutional and social equity principles,” his legal team said in a statement, per AP News. Kerry Tipper, city attorney, declined to comment on the ongoing case.
In contrast, United maintained that Wayans “pushed past” an employee to board the aircraft. However, the comedian and his legal representatives denied the allegation, pointing to recorded statements on police body cameras as evidence.
According to the court documents, surveillance footage revealed that the gate agent permitted approximately 140 passengers to board with oversized bags or more than the allowed number of items. The information lends weight to Wayans’ claim of racially motivated discrimination.
The same day of the altercation, Wayans took to social media to air his grievances. “Don’t call me and defend an employee for targeting me. This incident needs to be remedied. I ain’t resting until I am compensated correctly for this severe inconvenience,” he wrote on his account.
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In the clip, the entertainer stated, “This was harassment, and I will make enough noise to be sure all my friends, family, and peoples stop flying United. This will be a corporate matter. Black people [face] all kinds of racism and classism. I won’t allow this. Over a bag? Y’all owe me money for my shows I missed.”
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