Actor Rob Brown files class-action suit against Macy’s bosses

Black actor Rob Brown has filed a new class-action complaint against bosses at U.S. retailer Macy’s over multiple allegations of racial discrimination. The Treme star revealed last month (Oct13) that he had been handcuffed and questioned by undercover police at the company’s flagship New York store after store clerks suspected him of using a stolen credit card to buy a $1,350 (£900) Movado watch for his mother.
He claims he was “paraded” through the department store like a criminal, but released without charge after 45 minutes in custody when officials realised who he was.
Brown launched a separate legal action against bosses at Macy’s and the New York Police Department, but subsequently withdrew those lawsuits and joined forces with other alleged victims to file the new suit as a class-action complaint on Wednesday (13Nov13).
The court documents state: “This suit seeks to bring a halt to this disgusting, discriminatory pattern and practice.”
Brown’s racial profiling controversy emerged after a similar incident involving another young black man at luxury Big Apple retailer Barneys hit headlines in October (13). The scandal prompted calls for rap mogul Jay Z to pull his new holiday collection from the store’s shelves, but he declined to cut ties with the brand until further information about the incidents were made public.