In late November 2021, media mogul Byron Allen’s discrimination lawsuit against McDonald’s was dismissed for lack of evidence. On Jan. 21 a federal judge has cleared the way for Allen’s $10 billion discrimination lawsuit against the fast-food giant to move forward.
United States District Court for the Central District of California Judge Fernando Olguin denied a request by McDonald’s to toss the suit. Allen’s lawsuit is a complaint that his company has renewed again following an earlier dismissal.
The lawsuit was filed in the name of Entertainment Studios and the Weather Group, two companies owned by Allen. The suit claims that McDonald’s engages in patterns of racial stereotyping and regularly refuses to conduct business with Black-owned media companies in its advertising business, Ad Age reported.
“We look forward to presenting our enormous evidence in court, which will prove the systemic racism at McDonald’s,” Allen, CEO of Allen Media Group, said in a statement after last Friday’s ruling.
Allen’s original lawsuit was filed in May 2021. In it, Allen alleged that of McDonald’s “approximately $1.6 billion annual television advertising budget, McDonald’s spends less than approximately $5 million each year on African American-owned media, and it has refused to advertise on Entertainment Studios networks or The Weather Channel since Allen acquired the network in 2018.”
When it was dismissed, the court left the door open for Entertainment Studios to file a second amended complaint.
Allen also minced no words in his thoughts about McDonald’s leadership. “I firmly believe the board at McDonald’s should fire CEO Chris Kempczinski immediately,” he added in his statement about Friday’s ruling.
