Tyrese Gibson Sues Home Depot For Alleged Racist Interaction
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Tyrese Gibson is taking legal action after an alleged racist incident at a hardware store.
The 44-year-old and two other plaintiffs, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez, are seeking more than $1 million in damages from Home Depot, accusing the store of profiling during an unpleasant experience.
According to PEOPLE, the two men are associates of the star who “regularly provide construction services” to the actor. The trio claims a cashier and store manager were biased against them due to their race and ethnicity during a routine run to the West Hills, Calif. store. in February.
The lawsuit details how the Fast And Furious talent allegedly informed a cashier that Mora and Hernandez were qualified to use his credit card to make the purchase as he waited in the car due to fans noticing his presence at the Home Depot. The cashier allegedly “refused to complete the purchase transaction” even after the movie star returned inside the store.
As outlined in the legal documents, the men assert the cashier and a store manager who allegedly refused to speak with the Baby Boy actor “purposely interfered with and refused to process the transaction based on their groundless suspicion of Gibson, Mora and Hernandez arising from their skin color, and in the case of Mora and Hernandez, their national origin.”
The amount sought by the plaintiffs is said to reflect the amount Gibson claims to have spent at franchise home improvement stores at various locations over his lifetime, as well as punitive damages and “a declaratory judgment declaring that” Home Depot’s actions violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
“Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form,” shared Home Depot in a statement to PEOPLE.
“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.”
Video footage showing a portion of the alleged racial profiling incident can be viewed below.
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