- Tyrese Gibson is an American singer and actor
- He is alleging racism against him at a Home Depot
- THIS is what the actor is claiming
And the sad reality is that even celebrities can be victims of racism in their daily lives. Tyrese Gibson is known to most audiences as an R&B star and actor, most famous for his work in the 'Fast & Furious' film franchise. But he has been a bit of an online phenomenon in recent years due to his very public divorce and child custody battle. Now, Gibson is in the news for an alleged racism incident that he suffered while shopping at his local hardware store, The Home Depot.
Tyrese is not having it!
Long story short: Gibson and two other plaintiffs allege they were 'purposely interfered with' by Home Depot employees while they attempted to make a purchase back in February, and now he is taking The Home Depot to court! Apparently, Tyrese, 44, and two men described simply as "associates" of the actor who "regularly provide construction services to Gibson," filed a lawsuit against the hardware store. The suit says that the three men "experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling" while visiting the company's West Hills, California store. Tyrese and the two other plaintiffs are now wanting over $1 million in damages. Why this much? This is to reflect the amount Gibson says he's spent at Home Depot locations over his lifetime. But that's not all!
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The point is here is the principle behind the lawsuit and why it is being made. Besides punitive damages, they are also seeking "a declaratory judgment declaring that" Home Depot's actions violated California's Civil Rights Act. Tyrese wishes to make this case an example! According to the lawsuit, the actor decided to wait in his vehicle for the other two men to complete their transaction with his personal credit card. That's when fans of Gibson began noticing he was in the store.
Apparently, the store refused to ring up the purchase even though the lawsuit claims Gibson told the cashier he would allow Mora and Hernandez to use his credit card. It says "the cashier refused to complete the purchase transaction" even after Gibson returned to the store.
"The cashier gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating 'store policy' and demanded to see a form of identification. 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."
They believe this happened because of Gibson's skin color and the nationalities of his associates. At the time, Tyrese pulled out his phone to record things. "I understand policy, but you know you're being extra right now," he says in the video. As a frequent customer of this Home Depot, the actor was incensed. His legal team is sticking firmly to the "racial profiling" allegations. The Home Depot, on the other hand, said this:
"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." Let's wait and see where this story goes...
