Questlove and NBC sued for racial discrimination by former white employees

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Two former “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” employees are suing NBC and Questlove of The Roots for racial discrimination.

In the lawsuit, Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino, both of whom are white and former camera operators on the late-night show, claimed they were working on June 19, 2017 when they each received “an unsolicited racist and misogynist text message from a “Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon” stagehand,”  according to The Blast.

They claim a third person, Mark Kelley — a bassist for The Roots who is Black— also received the text.

Decker and Cimino say they later reported the incident to Keith McPhee (a manager for The Roots) and Bryon King, a technical production manager at NBC.

Instead of being heard, the two men claim they were both found culpable and immediately suspended, but Kelley was not.

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Decker and Cimino are now suing for racial discrimination and a million dollars in damages, saying that Questlove demanded that “all of the Caucasian employees involved” in the incident be fired.

“The bottom line is that discrimination is discrimination, no matter your ethnicity, race or creed,” Richard Roth, the lawyer representing Decer and Cimino, told The New York Daily News.

Questlove and NBC react to the allegations

In response to the lawsuit, NBC told the news outlet that they are “committed to providing a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity.”

“We have strong policies in place that protect against discrimination in any form,” a spokesperson said.”The decision about these plaintiffs was the company’s alone.”

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NBC also claimed that Decker and Cimino had violated company policy by not reporting the text.

Through a spokesperson, Questlove has also denied the allegations, calling them “ridiculous.” His statement reads:

“Racism is REAL and exists throughout the world and for these gentlemen to claim victim is not only disrespectful to Questlove and his band mates, but to all that truly endure racism on a daily basis. As NBC already stated, the decisions made regarding these employees were made by NBC, alone.”