Home Depot said Tyrese Gibson made a series of false and misleading claims in the $1 million racial profiling and discrimination lawsuit he filed against the retailer last month.
The retailer has responded after the actor-singer, 44, filed suit in Los Angeles Superior Court in August in connection with a Feb. 11 incident at the retailer’s West Hills, California, location.
Home Depot filed new court documents in the case, reviewed by TMZ Thursday, in which the company says surveillance footage of the incident contradicts some of the claims Gibson made in his lawsuit.
The Fast & Furious actor said in his lawsuit that the civil rights of him and two construction workers he employed were violated during an incident in which he clashed with store employees over whether he needed to be physically present to complete a process payment.
Home Depot said the How You Gonna Act Like That singer visited the store and took a number of different items to the checkout, where everything was scanned by the cashier.
The latest: Home Depot said Tyrese Gibson, 44, made a series of false and misleading claims in the $1 million racial profiling and discrimination lawsuit he filed against the retailer last month
The retailer has responded after Gibson sued them over a February 11 incident at the retailer’s West Hills, California location where he was visibly confused
Gibson did not pay for the goods at the time and went shopping again for 25 minutes, the company said in legal documents. The cashier voided the items Gibson presented in order to continue serving customers in his absence.
The company said the Watts, Los Angeles, resident was misleading in his complaint that a computer error caused the transaction to be delayed.
In his suit, Gibson said fans started to recognize him, so he left the establishment and waited in his car in the parking lot while the items he picked up would be called.
Gibson said in his lawsuit that he had his two workers there to use his credit card for the purchase; and that a cashier approved the appointment and told him it was fine to wait outside.
Home Depot said in its rebuttal that footage showed Gibson had not spoken to any of the cashiers before initially leaving the store.
Gibson said he told a cashier via FaceTime that he was okay with the transaction, but the cashier insisted he show his ID in person to complete the sale.
Home Depot said footage showed the cashier asking Gibson for his ID and explaining to him that he had to be there in person to show his ID.
Gibson eventually returned to the store and engaged in a tense argument with employees, Home Depot said in legal documents.
Home Depot said the How You Gonna Act Like That singer visited the store and took a number of different items to the checkout, where everything was scanned by the cashier. He then continued shopping for 25 minutes, causing the cashier to void the purchase
Home Depot said surveillance footage of the incident contradicts some of the claims Gibson made in his lawsuit
The Fast & Furious actor was upset during the February 11 incident at the retailer
Gibson filed legal papers in Los Angeles Supreme Court in August, claiming that the civil rights of him and two construction workers he had working for him were violated in an incident at the store.
The two employees Gibson had working for him, Eric Mora and Manual Hernandez, are also named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. Fox11 reported, citing court documents.
Gibson also claims the company violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act; and was negligent in hiring, supervising and retaining employees in the lawsuit, in which he also seeks damages.
Gibson in the legal filing that the $1 million was for compensatory damages, based on how much he estimates he has spent in the hardware store over the years.
Gibson’s attorneys said the entertainer “experienced firsthand egregious discriminatory mistreatment and racial profiling of consumers at the Home Depot store in West Hills.”
It continued: “The company must understand that there are consequences for discriminatory mistreatment and racial profiling of consumers.”
Gibson’s legal team said he and the plaintiffs “remain committed to doing our part to advance civil rights and end the despicable practice of discriminatory mistreatment and racial profiling of consumers at Home Depot and, by extension , in all stores.’
Home Depot said Gibson initially did not speak to any of the cashiers before leaving the store, but only came into contact with them after he returned
A video of the altercation was posted to YouTube showing Gibson in a tense argument with employees of the home improvement store.
Gibson also claims the company violated California’s Unruh Civil Rights Act; and was negligent in hiring, supervising and retaining employees in the lawsuit
He said the cashier refused to complete the transaction for his employees and “provided no reasonable explanation other than reiterating store policy and (demanding) to see some form of identification.”
Gibson said the transaction ultimately came about after an argument with the cashier, and the manager wouldn’t talk to him.
He said in court filings that “there is no other plausible explanation for the mistreatment of plaintiffs” other than racial discrimination.
In the lawsuit, Gibson’s attorneys said the employees involved in the incident “intentionally disrupted the transaction and refused to process it based on their unfounded suspicion of Gibson, Mora and Hernandez because of their skin color, and in the case of Mora and Hernandez, their national origin.’
A video of the altercation was posted to YouTube, showing Gibson in a tense argument with employees of the home improvement store.
“You’re a racist – and that’s the truth,” Gibson said to a woman in the clip. “And you have this racist energy about you because you’re not even willing to apologize, fix the problem and point out the inconsistencies of… what the policy is.”
In the clip, Gibson pointed out his long patronage of the store, which spanned a decade.
Gibson told a woman in the clip: ‘You’re a racist – and that’s the truth’
Gibson told TMZ that he was particularly emotional on the day of the incident because he had spoken to his “best friend” Brandy Norwood on the phone before returning to the store.
He said he called Brandy to wish her a happy 44th birthday, and she was upset because it was also the anniversary of her hero Whitney Houston’s death at age 48 in 2012.
Gibson told the outlet that he and his team gave Home Depot “every chance in the world to clean this up, and they just refused.”
Gibson’s team said in legal documents reviewed by People that Home Depot had “refused to take any responsibility” for the incident, and instead “doubled down, hired a lawyer, and treated Gibson, Mora and Hernandez and what happened to them as not worth considering to take – instead they concluded that they are the problem.’
A Home Depot representative told People in a statement in August: “Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination of any kind.
“We value Mr. Gibson as a client, and in the months since this happened we have contacted him and his attorneys several times to attempt to resolve his concerns. We will continue to do that.’