Just one day after reports surfaced of a lawsuit against NBC and the Roots’ Questlove over racial discrimination, a rep for the multi-instrumentalist has denied the claims.
According to The @Blast, the two parties were named in a suit filed by two former cameramen for “The Tonight Show”. In the suit, Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino say they received an “unsolicited racist and misogynist text message from a ‘Tonight Show’ stagehand.”
Although the two claim they did not respond to the message, they say they were still punished for the message. According to Rolling Stone, the cameramen say they tried to explain the situation to a Roots manager and an NBC technical production manager, but after Questlove learned of the situation, he demanded they be fired and the TV Network complied.
Problem is, Decker and Cimino, say they were not the only crew members to receive the racist text. According to reports, Mark Kelley of the Roots, who is black, also received the text message but was not punished for the incident. As a result, the cameramen believe the company’s firing was racially motivated, and that Questlove was the force that led them out. Now, the two are seeking $1 million in damages.
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However, the network, as well as a rep for the percussionist have denied the allegations in a statement to Rolling Stone.
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“Questlove denies the ridiculous allegations made in this lawsuit. Racism is REAL and exists throughout the world and for these gentlemen to claim victim is not only disrespectful to Questlove and his bandmates 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.”
