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A federal judge has ruled that a $10 billion lawsuit filed by media entrepreneur Byron Allen accusing McDonald's of racial discrimination can go to trial.
According to Variety, United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin determined that a jury should address Allen's claims that McDonald's was guilty of "racial stereotyping" by not advertising with Black-owned media.
“At a minimum, this is the type of case where the ‘trial court is permitted, in its discretion, to deny even a well-supported motion for summary judgment, if it believes the case will benefit from a full hearing,’” Olguin said in a 25-page order.
Allen's lawsuit, initially filed in 2021, alleges that his Entertainment Studios and Weather Channel were denied ad dollars from McDonald’s budget for general-market advertising and instead pushed to an "African American tier" that offers a much smaller ad budget, which led to his media outlets millions of dollars in potential annual revenue.
“We have overwhelming evidence against McDonald’s — who has been sued by its Black executives, Black franchisees, and their global head of security — for racial discrimination,” Allen said in a statement. “It is time for the McDonald’s Board of Directors, stockholders, and civil rights organizations nationwide to call for the resignation of CEO Chris Kempczinski, who was caught sending racist text messages about Black and Hispanic people.”
In a statement, McDonald's denied the allegations of racial discrimination.
“We are prepared to show that this case is utterly baseless. McDonald’s invested in media properties that aligned with the company’s business strategy and, like any other rational business, declined to invest in those that had low ratings or failed to reach the company’s target audiences,” McDonald’s said.
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