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A federal judge ruled that the 2021 lawsuit American businessman Byron Allen filed against McDonald's could advance to trial on December 4, 2024. Bryon had sued the fast food chain for alleged racial discrimination and sought $10 billion from them.
The 63-year-old businessman had claimed in his lawsuit that McDonald's promoted "racial stereotyping" by not advertising with Black-owned media. Variety reported that in his suit, Allen claimed that the racial stereotyping needed to be addressed by a jury.
Byron Allen is a comedian and film and TV producer as well as the founder of Allen Media Group, a US media company that deals with digital media, TV and film production, and broadcasting.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, Byron Allen's net worth is $800 million. The businessman reportedly paid $300 million for The Weather Channel TV network in 2018 and owns 12 cable networks that produce around 70 TV shows that air across the US.
Byron Allen's Networth: Investments and deals explored
Byron Allen is worth $800 million according to Celebrity Net Worth. The publication added that in 2020, Byron had announced that he invested $500 million in network affiliates in 2019. He also stated that he aimed to spend around $10 billion over the next few years to invest in acquisitions and become the country's biggest broadcaster.
Byron Allen made an offer of $8.5 billion to buy the TV station owner Tegna and tried to buy the NFL's Washington Commanders in 2022. In September 2023, he bid $10 billion to buy ABC and other TV stations from Disney.
This was followed by an attempt to buy TV stations owned by E.W. Scripps in November 2023. In December 2023, the businessman made a $3.5 billion offer to buy Black Entertainment Television from Paramount, however, none of the mentioned deals materialized.
Byron sold his Aspen mansion for $60 million to an anonymous buyer in September 2024. He had purchased the property for $27 million in 2020 and sold it fully furnished.
Everything to know about Byron Allen's $10 billion lawsuit against McDonald's
According to a report by The Hollywood Reporter on December 3, 2024, Byron Allen filed a lawsuit against McDonald's. He accused the chain of violating state and federal civil rights laws that forbid racial discrimination when enforcing and negotiating contracts. Byron's lawsuit alleges that McDonald's uses a multi-level approach concerning purchase advertising.
According to the lawsuit, the fast-food chain contracted with an advertising agency, OMD Worldwide from 2006 to 2021 in the general market tier. This was done to distribute its budget among white-owned media companies. Another tier comprising a smaller budget was handled by a different agency, Burrell, and was reserved for companies producing content for the Black audience.
Byron's lawsuit claimed that his company Entertainment Studios Network was "pigeonholed" into the second tier because he is the owner.
In a statement commenting on the fast-food chain's alleged racial discrimination, Byron Allen said that there is "overwhelming evidence" against McDonald's. Byron added that it was time for the brand's board of Directors, stockholders, and civil rights organizations across the country to "call for the resignation of CEO Chris Kempczinski." Allen also added that the CEO was allegedly caught sending "racist text messages about Black and Hispanic people."
The racist text messages in Byron's statement were about 2021 text messages from McDonald's CEO Chris to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot. It was in these text messages that he blamed the death of two Latino and Black children on their parents.
One of the kids, Jaslyn Adams, was shot dead in a car with her father in a McDonald's parking lot. Chris Kempczinski's message about Adams' death seemingly blamed the parents as they "failed those kids," he added that he knew it was "something you can't say." The CEO then went on to say that it was "even harder to fix."
United States District Judge Fernando M. Olguin gave Bryon's lawsuit against McDonald's a go-ahead to advance to trial. He said that "at minimum," the lawsuit was one where the trial court is sanctioned in its discretion to deny even a well-backed motion for summary judgment if it believes that the case will benefit if a full hearing is allowed.
