McDonald’s Loses Bid To Dismiss Byron Allen’s $10 Billion Racial Discrimination Lawsuit

Media mogul and The Weather Channel owner Bryon Allen is moving forward with his lawsuit towards McDonald’s Corporation regarding their racial discrimination in advertising. 

U.S. District Judge Fernando Olguin denied McDonald’s motion “for improperly referencing materials outside the pleadings.” Allen claims that McDonald’s does not offer the same advertisement treatment to black media companies as white media companies. 

This isn’t the first time McDonald’s has had mixups with racial discrimination lawsuits. In December 2021, famous former MLB player Herb Washington settled his racial discrimination lawsuit. McDonald’s purchased 13 franchises owned by the athlete to resolve the dispute. 

Black Enterprise reports Allen has filed similar lawsuits with the company and says that Black Enterprise has gotten a shorthand in McDonald’s spending budget. Though the company spends $1.6 billion on ads, black-owned media companies only receive $5 million. 

McDonald’s was supposed to refile or respond to Allen’s lawsuit by January 27. The company released a statement. 

“McDonald’s will refile its motion to dismiss by January 27 and continues to believe plaintiffs’ claims are meritless. This case is about revenue, not a race, and plaintiffs’ groundless allegations ignore McDonald’s legitimate business reasons for not investing more on their channels and the company’s collaboration with diverse-owned partners.” 

Allen also released a statement, “We look forward to presenting our enormous evidence in court, which will prove the systemic racism at McDonald’s.” He also believes that the McDonald’s board should fire the CEO, Chris Kempczinski.