Tyrese is standing ten toes down in his accusation that The Home Depot racially profiled him and his associates.
In August, the “Fast and Furious” star claimed that he experienced “outrageous discriminatory mistreatment and consumer racial profiling” while shopping at the retailer’s West Hills, California, location on Feb. 11.
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According to Tyrese, he and two of his associates went to Home Depot to purchase building materials for a home improvement project.
He claims that the cashier took over 20 minutes to ring up his items, and during this time, the multifaceted performer noticed he had begun to be recognized by shoppers. It was upon this realization that the singer decided to wait outside in his car so he would not cause a disturbance.
Tyrese says that he told the cashier that his associates, Eric Mora and Manuel Hernandez, would finish the transaction on his behalf. However, he claims that the pair were denied their items and the purchases were voided by the cashier.
The Grammy-nominated artist claims that he had to return to the store and show his I.D. to retrieve his items. He also claims alleges the manager of the store refused to see him after he asked to speak with them.
In his lawsuit against the hardware store, the 44-year-old said, “The actions of the cashier and manager were discriminatory based on race and origin. There is no other plausible explanation for the mistreatment of Plaintiffs.”
Home Depot responded to the $1 million lawsuit by saying, “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.”
In a twist of events, the retail giant has now come out and said that after reviewing the surveillance footage, Tyrese lied about what really happened. Home Depot says Tyrese never told a cashier that he was leaving the store and letting Mora and Hernandez handle the rest of his items.
In fact, they say he never spoke face to face with any of the store’s cashiers. The store also says Tyrese did not come in the store to show his ID, rather he tried to do so over a FaceTime call. The cashier and manager claim that they informed Tyrese that FaceTime verification would not suffice, and the singer would need to return to the store.
After Home Depot released their statement people’s belief in Tyrese’s story started to falter in the comment section under The Shade Room’s post.
“Wait did people actually believe him?”
“Obviously. This is the same guy who was begging Will Smith for money cause he can’t pay his child support.”
“This dude is desperate for money huh… blew all his fast and furious money????”
“He’s always lying tho lol.”
This dude is desperate for money huh… blew all his fast and furious money????
— no name (@WOWWHOCARESLEX) September 29, 2023
Not one to stay quiet for long, Tyrese shot back at the billion-dollar company. In a since-deleted statement released Sept. 29, Tyrese said, “Eric Mora, Manuel Hernandez, and I are 100% committed to taking a stand against The Home Depot in defense of our own civil rights and the civil rights of all who have been subjected to discriminatory practices and consumer racial profiling.”
The “Shame” singer continued, “The Home Depot and its team of attorneys seek to deny our claims, gaslighting… Trying to legally bully us and silence our voices as reflected in their most recent court filing. But we will not back down. We will use all of our energy to correct the conduct of the company, in service of the broader goal of a shared future free from discrimination.”
Tyrese also called out one of Home Depot’s co-founders, Bernard Marcus. He claimed that Marcus, who no longer works for the company, is trying to slander him with “these random claims.” He also alleged that Marcus was one of the “largest donors” during former Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
