A multi-billion dollar case has been approved in the US against the fast food chain McDonald’s for discriminatory advertising practices. African-American media entrepreneur Byron Allen accuses McDonald’s of a “racist contract process” when running ads. McDonald’s attorney Loretta Lynch said Tuesday that Allen’s complaint was “about income, not race.”
Allen, owner of Entertainment Studios Networks and Weather Group, is seeking $10 billion in damages. In a lawsuit filed in May 2021, he accuses McDonald’s of having set up “a two-tier system based on skin color” that excludes him from the normal advertising market.
In December, a judge dismissed the lawsuit because the allegations were insufficiently substantiated. However, after some legal back and forth, the same judge on Friday turned down a request from the fast food chain to drop the lawsuit, allowing it to proceed.
Smaller budget for “African American media”?
Allen says his company would have received “tens of millions of dollars in annual advertising revenue from McDonalds” under white ownership. He also accused McDonalds of signing contracts with another “African American media” advertising agency that had a significantly smaller budget than the rest of the market.
Former US Attorney Lynch, a partner in a law firm that represents McDonald’s, argues that the plaintiff’s allegations include both “legitimate operational reasons” for reduced investment in Allen’s station and “long-term business relationships” with companies owned by a wide variety of people. ignore. .
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
