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McDonald’s has been sued for $10 billion by companies owned by Byron Allen, a media magnate. The fast-food giant was brought to the court for allegedly being biased against Black-owned media.
Fox Business reported that based on the complaint, McDonald's declined to advertise with Entertainment Studios Networks and the Weather Group that owns The Weather Channel. These two firms are owned by Allen and they have filed their claims in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Alleged racial discrimination
In the filing that was brought to the court on Thursday, May 20, racial discrimination was the main complaint and this was said to have violated federal and state civil rights law under the racial animus and racial stereotyping in awarding ads.
Likewise, they claimed that McDonald's Corp is not advertising enough with Black-owned media outlets. Adding that 40% of the fast-food’s customers are Blacks but in 2019, the burger joint only allowed less than $5 million of its $1.6 billion ad budget to Black-owned media.
"McDonald's, like much of corporate America these days, publicly touts its commitment to diversity and inclusion, but this is nothing more than empty rhetoric," part of the filing reads.
In response to the lawsuit by Byron Allen’s companies, McDonald’s said that it will be reviewing the complaints. "We have doubled down on our relationships with diverse-owned partners," Reuters quoted McDonald's as saying. “We will review and respond accordingly to Allen's lawsuit.”
McDonald’s chairman re-elected by investors
Meanwhile, McDonald’s has re-elected Enrique Hernandez as chairman despite the calls for his removal. After the controversial ouster of ex-CEO Steve Easterbrook, chairman Hernandez was the next target by a minority group of investors but Bloomberg reported that most of the shareholders voted to keep him in the company.
Meanwhile, the new chief executive officer, Chris Kempczinski, said during the assembly that amid the internal chaos, McDonald’s will now focus on its main menu to keep sales high. He also revealed that they are planning to upgrade and improve digital ordering and speed up services in the fast-food’s drive-thrus.
