Tyrese Gibson Is Suing Home Depot for $1 Million Over Alleged 'Discriminatory Mistreatment'
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Tyrese Gibson is speaking out about discrimination he says he experienced while shopping at The Home Depot.
The Fast & Furious actor and two associates who "regularly provide construction services to Gibson," filed a lawsuit against the home improvement company alleging that the three men "experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling" during a visit to one of the store's locations in West Hills, California, earlier this year.
Gibson and the two other plaintiffs, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez, are seeking over $1 million in damages to cover the amount Gibson says he's spent at Home Depot locations over his lifetime, in addition to punitive damages.
The suit also states that the trio is looking to receive "a declaratory judgment" stating that Home Depot's actions violated California's Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The Unruh Civil Rights Act (California Civil Code Section 51), which passed in 1959, "provides protection from discrimination by all business establishments in California, including housing and public accommodations, because of age, ancestry, color, disability, national origin, race, religion, sex and sexual orientation," according to the Department of Rehabilitation.
The Waist Deep star's lawsuit alleges that when Gibson, Mora and Hernandez visited the store on Feb. 11, the actor-musician ultimately decided to wait in his vehicle—due to fans of his beginning to notice he was inside—while the other men completed the purchasing transaction with his credit card.
Though the "Sweet Lady" singer made it clear to the salesperson that the men were authorized to use his credit card in his absence, apparently, according to the suit, "the cashier refused to complete the purchase transaction," even after Gibson returned.
"The cashier gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating 'store policy' and demanded to see a form of identification," the lawsuit alleges. "The manager refused to speak with Gibson in person. It was only after significant heated discussion with the cashier that Gibson was finally able to complete the transaction."
Additionally, the legal document states the store's 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, and in the case of Mora and Hernandez, their national origin."
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There is also documented video footage from the initial occurrence, where the Baby Boy actor can be seen on a FaceTime call with the cashier after he left the store, telling them, "I understand policy, but you know you're being extra right now."
He later explained his frustration in the moment after having been a customer of the same retail location for "10 years."
"My problem with what just happened is I've been living three blocks from here for 10 years, and if this is a policy... Why are you the first person to stop my team and my ability to come in here when I've been coming to this particular Home Depot for 10 years?" he can be heard saying in the clip.
"Gibson, Mora and Hernandez are taking a stand against The Home Depot to hold it accountable," the lawsuit reads. "The company needs to understand that there are consequences for discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling."
On Thursday, a spokesperson for the home improvement chain shared a statement in response to the situation: "Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form."
It added: "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."
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