McDonald’s Settles $10 Billion Discrimination Lawsuit w/ Media Mogul Byron Allen Over Alleged Exclusion Of Black-Owned Media From Ad Spending

Byron Allen

McDonald’s Settles $10 Billion Discrimination Lawsuit w/ Media Mogul Byron Allen Over Alleged Exclusion Of Black-Owned Media From Ad Spending

McDonald’s has reached a confidential settlement with Byron Allen, ending a $10 billion lawsuit that accused the company of “racial stereotyping” and excluding Black-owned media from its advertising budget.

The agreement resolves both a federal suit and Allen’s related $100 million case in Los Angeles Superior Court, avoiding a July 15 trial.

Allen’s companies, Entertainment Studios Networks and the Weather Group, said, “We acknowledge McDonald’s commitment to investing in Black-owned media properties and increasing access to opportunity. Our differences are behind us.”

McDonald’s, while denying any wrongdoing, agreed to buy ads from Allen’s media platforms “at market value… in a manner that aligns with its advertising strategy and commercial objectives.”

Allen claimed McDonald’s wrongly categorized his companies as serving only Black audiences, limiting them to a “de minimis” ad budget. He also accused McDonald’s of backtracking on a 2021 pledge to raise Black-owned media ad spending to 5% by 2024.

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