Tyrese Gibson and his associates, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez, are suing The Home Depot for $1 million over what they claim was a racial profiling incident that took place at a Los Angeles-area store. The alleged incident took place on the evening of Feb. 11. The lawsuit claims the trio was “subjected to outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling.” Gibson estimates he’s spent no less than $1 million at various Home Depot stores over the years.
The alleged incident involved Gibson and his two associates being held up at a Home Depot checkout station due to a “purported glitch in the system.” The trio’s complaint says “the glitch” prevented them from checking out for around 20 minutes before a crowd started to form around the checkout line due to Gibson, a star of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. He decided to leave the store and wait in his car while Mora and Hernandez waited to complete the transaction.
According to Gibson, he communicated this plan to the Home Depot cashier. The cashier allegedly “acknowledged Gibson and said he understood,” the lawsuit says, adding: “Gibson asked the cashier if the cashier needed anything further from him to complete the transaction. The cashier said no, and that Gibson could leave.” But when Gibson’s two associates attempted to use his credit card, the cashier allegedly “refused to complete the purchase transaction.”
“The cashier gave no reasonable explanation other than repeating ‘store policy’ and demanded to see a form of identification,” the complaint says. “The manager refused to speak with Gibson in person. It was only after a significant heated discussion with the cashier that Gibson was finally able to complete the transaction.”
The complaint adds, “The actions of the cashier and manager were discriminatory based on race and origin. There is no other plausible explanation for the mistreatment of Plaintiffs. The transaction was refused, despite Gibson’s repeated authorizations, because of the Plaintiffs’ skin color and, in the case of Mora and Hernandez, also because of their national origin. 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.”
A Home Depot spokesperson told Variety, “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 Home Depot has refused to take any responsibility for discriminating against Gibson, Mora, and Hernandez, or to acknowledge the pain, humiliation, and anguish caused by the company,” the lawsuit fires back. “Instead, The Home Depot doubled down, lawyered up, and treated Gibson, Mora, and Hernandez and what happened to them as not worthy of any due consideration – instead inferring that they are the problem.”
Gibson most recently appeared in “Fast X.”