Media businessman has sued McDonald’s for racial discrimination

Media businessman Byron Allen has sued US fast food chain McDonald’s for racial discrimination. In the lawsuit, Allen accuses the fast food giant of racial stereotypes and refusal to advertise at Entertainment Studios (an American media and entertainment company owned by Byron Allen) and Weather Group (the company that owns and operates The Weather Channel and Local Now streaming service, which Allen purchased in 2018). According to the American businessman, McDonald’s is in violation of federal and state civil rights laws. The complaint states that dark-skinned customers make up about 40 percent of McDonald’s customers, but in 2019 the company donated less than $ 5 million from its $ 1.6 billion US advertising budget to African-American media. "McDonald's, like much of corporate America these days, is publicly asserting its commitment to diversity and inclusion, but it is nothing more than empty phrases," the complaint said. On the same day, the fast food giant said it would increase its national spending on black-owned media advertising from two to five percent by 2024. It also mentioned that it would spend more on platforms owned by Americans of Hispanic and Asian-American descent, women and LGBTQ communities. "We have strengthened our relationships with diverse partners," the US fast food chain said in a statement. It also added that he would review the lawsuit and respond accordingly. In April of this year, General Motors was forced to increase its advertising spending in media owned by dark-skinned residents. Allen and other entrepreneurs came up with full-page newspaper ads accusing the carmaker of ignoring such media. The carmaker responded quickly and doubled its spending to four percent of its advertising budget. At the same time, it has set a goal of reaching eight percent by 2025.