Home Depot has accused Tyrese Gibson of engaging in “exaggerated theatrics” following his lawsuit against the LA store for racial profiling.
Last year, Tyrese filed a $1 million lawsuit over a February 11, 2023, incident involving a Home Depot cashier.
Tyrese claimed that while shopping with two associates, he was overwhelmed by fans noticing him.
According to reports, Tyrese gave his associates his credit card to make purchases while he waited outside. A cashier allegedly allowed them to proceed but later refused without Tyrese’s photo ID.
Tyrese, feeling frustrated, approached the cashier and reminded her he had been in the store just five minutes earlier. When she insisted on an ID for the transaction, he responded, “Should I have the CEO of Home Depot call you tomorrow? Because he’s my neighbor in Atlanta.”
A rep for Home Depot said, “Diversity and respect for all people are core to who we are, and we do not tolerate discrimination in any form. We value Mr. Gibson as a customer, and in the months since this happened, we’ve reached out to him and his attorneys several times to try to resolve his concerns. We will continue to do so.”
However, Home Depot’s official response stated that security footage contradicted Tyrese’s claim of speaking to a cashier about his associates using the card before leaving the store.
The store asserted that Tyrese left items with the cashier and then left the register for over 25 minutes, leading the cashier to clear the transaction.
According to RadarOnline.com, Tyrese is accusing Home Depot of withholding requested documents and employee witnesses for depositions, stating that Home Depot conditioned disclosure on his agreement to a protective order, which he hadn’t been informed of and doesn’t agree to.
A rep for Home Depot has countered Tyrese’s claims, stating they are scheduling employee depositions and require a protective order before sharing documents.
They argued, “[Tyrese], a celebrity with 19.5 million Instagram followers, has publicly posted information — such as the video recordings taken on the date of the incident, which were objected to by at least one employee. These postings were then shared and reposted including by media outlets. A protective order will prevent public dissemination of private communications of non-parties that were never intended to be public.”
According to Home Depot, they anticipated a lawsuit from Tyrese because of his “statements and exaggerated theatrics” during the incident.
Additionally, Home Depot’s lawyers argued, “CCTV footage is not made available to the public and, due to the camera locations, captures private and sensitive customer information.”
They stated the company would provide the footage once a protective order was in place.
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