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McDonald’s has reached a confidential settlement with media mogul Byron Allen, resolving a $10 billion federal lawsuit and a related $100 million state-level case. Allen had accused the fast-food giant of racial discrimination in its advertising practices, alleging that McDonald’s systematically excluded Black-owned media companies from its mainstream ad spending.
The agreement, announced Friday, comes ahead of a trial that was set to begin on July 15 in Los Angeles federal court. Allen’s companies—Entertainment Studios Networks and The Weather Group—filed the lawsuits, claiming that McDonald’s had racially stereotyped them by allocating ad dollars only to a minimal budget meant for Black audiences.
Allen alleged that McDonald’s mischaracterized his media properties, which include The Weather Channel, Comedy.TV, Cars.TV, and others, as serving only Black viewers. This, he argued, unjustly excluded them from the chain’s general market ad spending. He also accused McDonald’s of reneging on its 2021 pledge to increase national ad spend on Black-owned media from 2% to 5% by 2024.
In the settlement, McDonald’s agreed to purchase advertising from Allen’s media outlets "at market value" in alignment with its business goals, while denying any wrongdoing. Allen’s companies acknowledged the chain’s commitment to supporting Black-owned media and said the matter is now resolved.
Allen previously stated that his Allen Media Group represents over 90% of Black-owned media in the U.S., making the lawsuit a high-profile test of corporate diversity pledges. While financial terms of the settlement remain confidential, the deal is being seen as a step forward in holding major advertisers accountable for equitable media representation.
The resolution underscores growing scrutiny over diversity in corporate advertising strategies and signals progress in the push for fair access to national ad budgets.
