Racial profiling is something that should always be taken seriously, especially if it’s a big brand that should be doing better to help its community, which is why Home Depot are being put through the ringer.
This comes after famous actor and The Fast & Furious alum, Tyrese Gibson, began a gruelling lawsuit against the home improvement store in August for racial profiling.
Within the complaint against The Home Depot, Inc. he asked for over $1 million in damages, claiming he was 'subjected to outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling.'
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Now, the 44-year-old is speaking out after Home Depot allegedly tried to ‘bully’ him and two other claimants out of their case.
On Friday 29 September, Gibson took to Instagram to write about the court case and what he and his co-plaintiffs, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez had been through.
He wrote that they 'are 100% committed to taking a stand against The Home Depot in defence of our own civil rights and the civil rights of all who have been subjected to discriminatory practices and consumer racial profiling.'
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The singer/actor continued: "The Home Depot and its team of attorneys seek to deny our claims, gaslighting… Trying to legally bully us and silence our voices as reflected in their most recent court filing,"
Gibson continued in the post featured a TMZ headline about the lawsuit: "But we will not back down. We will use all of our energy to correct the conduct of the company, in service of the broader goal of a shared future free from discrimination."
“Speaking UP (and) speaking OUT against blatant racism and discrimination is nothing new for me," he added.
"I would never ever (think) this would happen to me at Home Depot…. 20+ years and this is the f***ing thanks we get…."
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Gibson is referring back to an incident that happened 11 February this year where he went to the West Hills, California location with Mora and Hernandez.
Allegedly, his two associates, who ‘regularly provide construction services to Gibson in connection with his projects’, were in the store with his credit card and Gibson was waiting in his car when fans noticed he was there.
The actor claims within his filings that he told the cashier Mora and Hernandez had permission to use his credit card to complete their purchase.
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The court documents allege according to PEOPLE that ‘the cashier refused to complete the purchase transaction’, even after Gibson returned to the store.
The Home Depot did hit back at these claims, telling PEOPLE in August that: "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," the statement added.
"We will continue to do so."
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Now, the store has filed new legal documents on 28 September, which say that Gibson left the register to shop after a cashier had scanned his items, according to TMZ.
They also claim that he left the register for 25 minutes and that a cashier had finished his transaction during his time away, with surveillance footage showing Gibson having no face-to-face interaction with employees during the incident.
But Gibson had already posted a video proving that he had spoken to employees inside of the store, claiming there is a 'joint class lawsuit (in which) they are seeking $450 million in damages.'
Topics: Celebrity, Fast and Furious, News, US News, Racism, Film and TV
Britt Jones