Nanny sues the mother who fired her after sending a racist text

Lauren Holter


Lynsey Plasco-Flaxman reportedly thought she was texting her husband about the new nanny she had hired to look after the couple’s two children. Instead, she mistakenly texted the message — which read, “NOOOOOOOOOOO ANOTHER BLACK PERSON” — to Giselle Maurice, the new nanny in question.

In a new discrimination lawsuit, Maurice, who is a black woman, alleges that Plasco-Flaxman fired her after she realized that she and not her husband had received the racist text. Maurice believes she’s owed the six months’ worth of pay she was promised when Plasco-Flaxman hired her.

Giselle Maurice alleges she was fired after a new employer accidentally sent her a racist text. (Photo: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
Giselle Maurice alleges she was fired after a new employer accidentally sent her a racist text. (Photo: Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

“[I want] to show them, look, you don’t do stuff like that,” Maurice told the New York Post. “I know it’s discrimination.”

According to Maurice, Plasco-Flaxman explained the text by noting that her last nanny was African-American. The Manhattan-based mom claimed to have had a bad experience with the previous nanny, hence her reaction to Maurice’s race.

The Plasco family has claimed that Maurice was dismissed not because of her race, but because of any potential conflict the text situation might have caused.

Plasco-Flaxman reportedly said she felt “uncomfortable” employing Maurice after the accidental text.

“[My wife] had sent her something that she didn’t mean to say,” Joel Plasco, the woman’s husband, told the Post. “She’s not a racist. We’re not racist people. But would you put your children in the hands of someone you’ve been rude to, even if it was by mistake? Your newborn baby? Come on.”

Despite the text, Maurice claims she wouldn’t have treated the couple’s children differently. She also said she tried to settle the dispute through mediation, though Plasco did not confirm this. Maurice only sued when that route didn’t seem to get anywhere, she said.

“I was willing to work with her and prove her wrong, but it was her conscience, and she couldn’t work with me anymore,” Maurice added.

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