Tyrese Gibson Says He 'Will Not Back Down' in Lawsuit Against The Home Depot

Tyrese Gibson filed a $1 million lawsuit against The Home Depot alleging racial profiling against him and two associates during a Feb. 11 incident in California

Tyrese Gibson is speaking out about the latest developments in his lawsuit against The Home Depot over alleged racial profiling.

Early Friday morning, Gibson, 44, shared a lengthy statement on Instagram in which he wrote — in part — that he and his co-plaintiffs Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez "are 100% committed to taking a stand against The Home Depot in defense of our own civil rights and the civil rights of all who have been subjected to discriminatory practices and consumer racial profiling."

"The Home Depot and its team of attorneys seek to deny our claims,gaslighting… Trying to legally bully us and silence our voices as reflected in their most recent court filing," Gibson wrote in the caption to the post, which featured a TMZ headline concerning the lawsuit. "But we will not back down. We will use all of our energy to correct the conduct of the company, in service of the broader goal of a shared future free from discrimination."
 
Speaking UP [and] speaking OUT against blatant racism and discrimination is nothing new for me," Gibson added on Instagram. "I would never ever [think] this would happen to me at Home Depot…. 20+ years and this is the f---ing thanks we get….."

Related: Tyrese Gibson Denies DJ Envy's Claim Actor Was 'Disrespectful' to His Wife: 'Had to Pull Up Some Receipts'

The Fast & Furious actor first filed a complaint against The Home Depot, Inc. in Los Angeles County Superior Court in August, seeking over $1 million in damages, claiming he was "subjected to outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling."

The incident in question stems back to a Feb. 11 visit Gibson made to Home Depot's West Hills, Calif., location with Mora and Hernandez, who a court filing obtained by PEOPLE at the time described as associates of the actor who "regularly provide construction services to Gibson in connection with his projects."

The lawsuit alleges that during this visit, the actor and musician decided to wait in his vehicle for the other two men to complete their transaction with his credit card when fans of Gibson began noticing he was in the store.

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Though the lawsuit claims Gibson told the cashier he would allow Mora and Hernandez to use his credit card to complete their purchase, it alleges "the cashier refused to complete the purchase transaction" even after Gibson returned to the store.

In an August statement, The Home Depot told PEOPLE: "Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form." 

Related: Tyrese Gibson Shares Video of 'Heated Discussion' from His $1M Home Depot Lawsuit

"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," the statement continued. "We will continue to do so."

The Home Depot filed new legal documents Thursday in which it pushed back against Gibson's claims, saying that Gibson left the cash register to continue shopping after a cashier had scanned each of his items, according to TMZ. The company also said Gibson left the register for 25 minutes and that a cashier cleared his transaction during his absence, and that their surveillance footage of the incident shows Gibson did not speak face-to-face with any of their employees during the incident, as the outlet reported.

Shortly after filing the lawsuit, Gibson shared a video of the incident on Instagram that showed him speaking with employees inside the store. Alongside that post, he shared a statement claiming there is a "joint class lawsuit [in which] they are seeking $450 million in damages."

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