Daily News
NBC sued over alleged pressure from Quest Love
January 25, 2018
Kate Feldman
Questlove, NBC sued for racial discrimination
Two former “Tonight Show” employees claim NBC fired them at the behest of Questlove. Camera operators Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino filed a lawsuit against the musician and NBC, claiming that Questlove “pressured NBC to fire all of the Caucasian employees involved in the incident,” first reported by The Blast.
Two former “Tonight Show” employees claim NBC fired them at the behest of Questlove.
Camera operators Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino filed a lawsuit against the musician and NBC, claiming that Questlove “pressured NBC to fire all of the Caucasian employees involved in the incident,” first reported byThe Blast.
Decker and Cimino claim they, as well as Roots bassist Mark Kelley, received “an unsolicited racist and misogynist text message from a Tonight Show stagehand” in June.
The two men claim in the lawsuit, acquired by the Daily News, that they reported the text to The Roots manager and an NBC technical production manager. They say they were both suspended, but Kelley was not.
The lawsuit also claims that Questlove wanted “all of the Caucasian employees involved” fired, including Decker and Cimino, but no punishment for Kelley.
“The bottom line is that discrimination is discrimination, no matter your ethnicity, race or creed,” Richard Roth, who is representing Decer and Cimino, told The News.
NBC told The News that the company is “committed to providing a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity.”
“We have strong policies in place that protect against discrimination in any form,” a spokesperson said..”The decision about these plaintiffs was the company’s alone.”
A source also told The News that Decker and Cimino failed to report the text, which violated company policy.
Questlove denied the “ridiculous” allegations in a statement to The News.
“Racism is REAL and exists throughout the world and for these gentlemen to claim victim is not only disrespectful to Questlove and his band mates, but to all that truly endure racism on a daily basis,” a spokesperson said. “As NBC already stated, the decisions made regarding these employees were made by NBC, alone.”
