“Fast & Furious” star Tyrese Gibson is suing The Home Depot, accusing the retailer of racial profiling.
In a complaint filed on Wednesday, as reported by Entertainment Weekly and People, Gibson alleges that he and two associates, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez, were discriminated against when they visited a store in LA on February 11.
According to the suit, after purchasing some items, Gibson experienced a delay at checkout due to a “glitch in the system.” When he noticed fans gathering around him, Gibson says he decided to leave and wait in his car while Mora and Hernandez completed the transaction.
Gibson, 44, says he told the cashier of his plan, and that they agreed it was fine. However, the cashier then refused to complete the transaction, even after Gibson returned to the store, the complaint says.
A Home Depot representative told Insider in a statement Friday: “Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form.”
“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,” the statement added, though it did not directly address the accusation of racial profiling.
A portion of Gibson’s interaction with the cashier was caught on video and later published online.
“The cashier gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating ‘store policy’ and demanded to see a form of identification,” the complaint says, per Entertainment Weekly. “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.”
The suit alleges “the actions of the cashier and manager were discriminatory based on race and origin.”
“The transaction was refused, despite Gibson’s repeated authorizations, because of Plaintiffs’ skin color and, in the case of Mora and Hernandez, also because of their national origin,” the complaint alleges. “This is a clear and deplorable instance of discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling. The treatment of Gibson, Mora and Hernandez by The Home Depot was humiliating and demeaning.”
The trio are seeking $1 million in damages, reflective of the amount Gibson estimates he has spent at Home Depot over the years, in addition to other fees.
Per the suit, the plaintiffs are also seeking a declaratory judgment that Home Depot’s actions violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act, which prohibits businesses from discriminating against customers based on race, sex, and disability.
