Tyrese Gibson is taking Home Depot to court. The actor is suing the company for more than $1 million due to an alleged “racial profiling” incident. The lawsuit filed on Wednesday claims that the incident took place in their West Hills, California store.
In the lawsuit, Gibson and two associates of his who “regularly provide construction services to Gibson,” stated that they “experienced outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling.”
The $1 million the three plaintiffs are seeking is said to reflect the amount Gibson says he’s spent at Home Depot locations over his lifetime. Additionally, it covers punitive damages and “a declaratory judgment declaring that” Home Depot’s actions violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act.
The suit also alleges negligent hiring, supervision and retention at the company.
The lawsuit alleges that when the plaintiffs visited the store on February 11th, waited in his vehicle while the other two men completed their transaction due to him being noticed by fans in the store. Gibson gave the two his credit card to complete the transaction.
Though the lawsuit claims Gibson told the cashier he would allow Mora and Hernandez to use his credit card to complete their purchase, it alleges “the cashier refused to complete the purchase transaction” even after Gibson returned to the store.
The company responded to the lawsuit in a statement.
“Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form,” the statement read. “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.”