Apple employees at its Upper West Side store in New York City are being charged for racial discrimination after an incident during which they allegedly told two black men they were not welcome in the store and asked them to leave. Thankfully, the whole occurrence was recorded on a cell phone.
Apple’s employee is said to have invaded their “personal space” and said to them, “You know the deal. You know the deal.” Then asked the plaintiffs to leave the store unless they planned to purchase something or see a Mac Specialist. Johnston and Charles claim that before they had chance to respond, the Apple employee informed them they were not welcome because of their race:
“And before you say I’m racially discriminating against you, let me stop you. I am discriminating against you. I don’t want ‘your kind’ hanging out in the store.”
The pair claim situation was exacerbated when a second Apple store employee got involved. “Now you have to go,” they said. “If you want to know why, it’s because I said so. CONSIDER ME GOD. You have to go.”
When Johnston and Charles asked to speak to the store manager, they claim the head of security ignored their request and so they went to find the manager on their own before making allegations of racial profiling. The store manager then asked security to call 911, which they claim was to further degrade them.
“In order to further harass, degrade, humiliate, and discriminate against Plaintiffs, the manager asked Defendant’s Head of Security to call 911,” the complaint reads. “Defendant interfered with Plaintiffs right to purchase personal property because of their race.”
Johnston and Charles say they were “shocked and humiliated” by the incident, which they fortunately recorded on their cell phones. The pair are asking for punitive damages as compensation.
Apple is accused of violating federal and state civil laws in the lawsuit which was filed in February of this year in the New York Supreme Court. The filing surfaced this month after the case was moved to a U.S. District Court in the Southern District of New York.
[via AppleInsider]
Killian Bell is a freelance writer based in the U.K. He has an interest in all things tech and also covers Android over at CultofAndroid.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @killianbell.
135 responses to “Racist Genius Proclaiming Himself God Prompts Discrimination Lawsuit”
I wonder when/if this video footage will be posted online to see if this is a genuine story or not.
Well, when every movie around adds to the case of the typical gangster stereotype for black males, sometimes I dont blame the staff for feeling threatened as well…
I used to work in a retail environment, and 9 out of 10 the people dressed like those dudes in the articles, they were only causing trouble and intimidating other customers.
One tip for all the young black male guys out there. Quit helping people build the stereotype that your some tupac gangster and you will be taken seriously.
This is not racist, but even my black friend says that this rap/high-hop/gangster way of living is only prone to make things worse.
I somehow think that there is something more to the story….
where is the video?
Fire them.
Yes, and every Lifetime movie tells us that men are violent criminals and hey, statistically they’re right: females are extremely unlikely to commit violent crimes. So let’s ban all men and everything will be much safer.
Or we could just realize that *even if* a stereotype is correct — and I’m not saying that stereotyping blacks dressed in baggy clothes as thugs is correct — but *even if it was*, you don’t judge an individual or individuals on the basis of the group.
If this is true, fire those staff. Absolutely horrendous.
This is the first time I’ve heard of a “Racist Genius”. They are usually quite dumb those racists.
Couldn’t agree more. The question is what is being hidden from us?
There always is. I also find it very interesting that they just happened to be recording this. Really?
Killian.
Your article left out one important word that you should have used multiple times:
“Allegedly.”
You don’t want Steve to sue you for libel. Do you?
The guy says it wasn’t about race, he was “discriminating against you.” Whose to say these two guys weren’t involved in gang activity? Maybe they had already been into the store and done something to piss off the geniuses. All the interaction from the Apple employees’ side hints to a preexisting relationship. This is not a complete story, at all. This would also explain the 911 call, and the guy telling them to just get out (which by itself is totally acceptable, reserve the right to refuse, etc…). In fact there’s nothing actually racially incriminating about the exchange. It’s just being trumped up in such a way.
Multiple posters are wondering when the video footage will be posted, nothing was mentioned about video just that it was recorded on an phone. I would imagine it was audio only!
Thank you for your comment. I’ve made a few changes.
Killian
Sorry, as a black male, your statement is racist. In addition, as a black male, who never dresses as those gentlemen did, I still have problems in various environments.
I do feel that their lawyer may be over reaching in asking for financial punitive damages. I would suggest that the two initial employees are terminated and the rest of staff go through sensitivity training. I am also hoping that there is more to the story because it is unclear why 911 was called and why that might be humiliating since from the article above no crime was committed.
Indeed.
the whole thing is fishy. It’s too out there.
Frankly I think that there is no video and that the true is that none of the things said were actually said. That is if the guys were even ever in the store in the first place.
Assuming that they were, given how they were dressed, which is the classic uniform of a shoplifter, it is no shock that they were approached and asked if they needed help and the staff member stayed near by. Not so much ‘getting up in my personal space’ but ‘too close for me to shove these Dre Beats in my shirt’. Standard retail practice and one that is likely seen over and over regardless of race on the stores video tapes
If the “you know the deal” was said it is probably because those guys have been in the store before and pulled moves that suggested that they did or tried to shoplift before.
As for the rest, if it is true, it was probably not provoked by anything said by the staff but rather these guys making a huge scene so their buddy (who walked in before or after them) could shove some stuff in his pants while everyone was paying attention to the two of them.
If that was me and I was so horribly abused I would have stood right outside the doors where they can’t touch me and uploaded my evidence to youtube right off their own wifi.
and supposedly they have ‘the whole thing’ on video which suggests that they went in already prepped to film or filming. Like they knew something was going to go down. Either cause they were already told they couldn’t hang out there or because they were going to start something.
and if there isn’t a video where’s them claiming that the nasty racist ahole employee grabbed the phone and deleted the video claiming they can’t film in the store etc. That would be the perfect touch. and an easy one because Apple like almost every retail shop prohibits filming or photos in the store
This is exactly what i was thinking, if these guys did geuinly do this then there a set of dicks and they deserve all they get, but some how i think that more likely they came into the store once before and started some trouble and when they came back they came with a camera so they could get them in trouble, its just a little too weird that they happened to be filiming it.
And I suggest that we see some proof that any of this went down the way they say before we start damning the staff and making demands.
It’s become too easy to assume that the victims were victims. Especially when the charge is racism. But in some cases the victims are the accused. They are doing what they do just like they would with anyone but because one part is this race and the other party is another it is suddenly racism and folks are quick to jump on the ‘damn them’ bandwagon.
You can’t expect employees at the Apple store to be PC.
It is not racist to tell people to dress in contrast to the thugs who perpetuate a stereotype. Seriously, clothing is one of the few things we each have complete control over.
its funny all of the racist comments that are on this thread. as an afican american male who has a brother who works in an Apple store i tend to see more caucasian males coming into the store acting like the stereotypes thats are usually reserved for black males. so i think unless anyone of you knows the entire story or was there you should keep your speculations and racist comments to a minimum. not every black male with baggy jeans is from compton strapped with a 40 ounce and a 9mm. Its kind of sad how closed minded and outdated people’s mindsets can be. smh
If the story is true – which seems unlikely – I hope they recorded it using an iphone.
50% is not a majority. And no, if you are going to open a business here in the United States you do not have the inalienable right to adopt a policy of “we are going to entertain only Caucasian, or Asian, or whatever category of customers only. Have you never heard of ‘desegregation’? You’re not very bright, are you?
“More likely?” Based on what? If it’s based on experience then who’s experience because I know certain experiences would render the charges of racism most likely to have happened. Regardless of what may have transpired prior to the alleged altercation, if true, these two individuals have a case of being discriminated against and have it recorded. It seems to me that if they have nothing other than their word against the defendants, then they have no case, period.
I agree with you, the post you replied to was clearly a racist statement and anyone who doesn’t see it just goes to show that racism needs to be taken more serious. At least the statement is riddled with bogus assumptions about race. Take this statement for example, “
One tip for all the young black male guys out there. Quit helping people build the stereotype that your some tupac gangster and you will be taken seriously.end quoteAre you serious? This person can not see the overgeneralization as if a) dressing with baggy clothing was a “black thing.” and b) young black men are a monolithic group.
It’s the same as telling a scantily-clad white girl to stop wearing hoochie pants so she doesn’t look like a wh*re and further a “white trash” stereotype. Do you think most self-respecting white girls will dress that way unless it’s to purposefully say they’re wh*res? Why would an intelligent black man want to further the thug stereotype unless it was deliberate?
I don’t see this being about race, I see it being about people choosing to dress the way they do, because of the impression they think they’re making. There’s a reason some people avoid eye contact with others, a lot of the time because they don’t want to get mugged.
If you further the stereotype, don’t get mad that you’re being judged.
another bogus presumptuous racist comment.
Ah, now I understand! This had nothing to do with race at all!! These guys must have come in with an Android phone and started filming with it. With this in mind, the “we don’t like your kind in the store” comment makes perfect sense. What self-respecting Apple employee wouldn’t be instantly upset and aghast that someone would use a Googlephone in the store!
Hey Larry,
These guys were on private property and refused to leave, probably while causing a scene. They were trespassing, and that is a crime.
I don’t think you read what Larry said.
I’ll agree with you though, if you dress like a thug you should expect to be treated like a thug.
Larry was saying that he does NOT dress like a thug, yet experiences day-to-day problems due to his race.
Dress like a thug, be treated like a thug. Dress smart and you’ll be treated like you’re smart. Dress like Paris Hilton and we’ll assume you’re a mindless socialite. Dress like a hipster and we’ll assume you’re a PBR loving lemming.
What is so hard to understand that for most of the world when you get dressed you are creating an outward representation of yourself for the world?
That’s a really good point. Right now, we really have a very limited data – and none of what we have seems particularly objective.
I don’t understand why lucascott’s comment was racist, race was never mentioned in the comment. So I must assume, based on your comment, that you believe that anyone that shoplifts must be african-american. It appears that you are actually the racist.
So based on no evidence, you are prepared to fire the employees involved? There is no indication that race had anything to do with this incident except for the wording of the complaint made by the two who were thrown out. That’s only one side of the story.
Retail stores are perfectly within their rights to discriminate against anyone they want to, as long as they don’t do it on race (and outside of the US, on gender). If they were discriminated against because of any other reason than race, it’s not only 100% legal, it happens every day.
Everyone is jumping on
the RACIST bandwagon here based on partial knowledge. We do not know the whole story. We only
know what the sensationalized media wants to feed us.
Based on what we do know, Business’ do have the
“Right to Refuse Services” and the Unruh Civil Rights Act
defines the guidelines preventing discrimination based on appearance and
behavior. Following these guidelines there is grounds to refuse services
based on the way they were dressed – especially if they have ben informed of
this on previous occasions. Banks do this all the time – refusing service
to individuals wearing hoodies, sunglasses, masks, etc.
The real damaging element
here for the plaintiffs is the claim that the Apple employee approached them
saying “You know the deal, you know the deal.” This implies
previous engagement or confrontation.
For Apple – the statement
that the employee said “I am discriminating against you. I don’t want
‘your kind’ hanging out in the store.” is damaging. Though the “your kind” statement does not
indicate RACE specifically.
There is also some stuff which isn’t in this article. Like when they complained about the first guy that “got in their personal space,” to another manager in the store, it was the second manager that called the head of security to chuck them out. So it’s not one guy with a racist attitude, it’s at least two Apple employees who agreed that these guys were a problem of some kind.
Seriously though, without video it’s not worth arguing about as it could easily be either way. It totally depends on how these guys looked and acted and whether they had been a problem in the past which none of us know right now.
Baggy sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt don’t mean you’re a thug. Half the kids in NY dress this way. I’ve seen ‘skater kids’ dress the same way. Why wouldn’t they get banned?
jesus, where did all the racist apologists come out from? some of the most racist statements i’ve seen in an apple blog, all couched under “i’m not being racist” or “i didn’t mention race.” you don’t have to, it’s coded in all the assumptions and generalizations you’re making.
Why are they dicks to record the incident? How do you know they came into the store before? Oddly, you blame them even more for actually recording the incident.
BTW, if you get into trouble at an Apple Store they have a picture of who you are so you’re not allowed in again. In the article it said “Then asked the plaintiffs to leave the store unless they planned to purchase something or see a Mac Specialist.”
“One tip for all the young black male guys out there. Quit helping people build the stereotype that your some tupac gangster and you will be taken seriously.
This is not racist…”actually, it is quite a racist sentiment. the idea that black men have to be super minorities to compensate for the stereotypes that *non* black men have of them.
“One tip for all the young black male guys out there. Quit helping people build the stereotype that your some tupac gangster and you will be taken seriously.
This is not racist…”
actually, that is quite a racist sentiment. the idea that black males have to defy some stereotype that *non* black males have of them in order to be validated by them. not just me saying it, this is a well researched phenomenon in the social sciences.
*applause*
I don’t see why the headline calls out the employee’s proclamation of being god. It’s like calling himself a fairy or a unicorn or other fictitious character. So?
Racism is entirely unacceptable however.
I wouldn’t be surprised if in the midst of all these kids and teens filming musical performances inside apple stores that these gentelemen had come in prior to this incident to try and do the same. The difference would be that probably they were there to perform some kind of hip-hop video, judging by their clothes, and we all know hip hop / rap music is well known for it’s use of fowl language and it’s inappropriate imagery. Whilst a 13 yo child singing and dancing to Born This Way by Lady Gaga would be perceived as an innocent, cute little kid trying to have fun (while giving Apple free publicity regarding the whole Apple Store experience), two hooded males, black OR white, doing some sort of hip hop dance and lipsynching to dirty songs would be an absolutely different story.That would definetly explain why they were ready to record it, for one. And that would explain the phrasing of the genius that said he was discriminating against them PERIOD. I don’t think it had anything to do with racism. He was probably discriminating against a couple of dancing and singing grown ass men trying to make a scene and be famous on YouTube.
Just trying to lighten up the mood guys, really. We don’t have nearly enough knowledge to conclude anything from this situation, how or why it happened. so lets chill and wait for more info. Or just let it go. ;)
The Apple store in my mall has one security person, a 20 foot or so wide entrance and people coming and going all day. It would be easy to walk in even if I “weren’t allowed” in the store.
I smell something fishy about this whole lawsuit…can’t wait till the Apple side is reviled.
Way to steal a comment from a respected commenter at Gizmodo without giving any credit.
I haven’t seen skater’s dressing the same way. There may be some style similarities, but skate clothes need to allow movement. So the hoodies probably aren’t stupidly big, and the pants aren’t stupidly baggy to the point where they sag to mid thigh. And yes, that is the difference between looking like a skater kid, and a thug. Small? yes. Real? very.
The long and the tall of it is that these guys were by all accounts CHAVS or the american equivalent (probably). I used to work in a cinema years back and there was always an element that would get into the foyer and just fuck about. The majority of the trouble makers were teenage asian boys (15-19) and you could spot them a mile off. As a person looking after the floor you became automatically suspicious of kids like that based on experience. We were always tough on the asian teens (the ones that looked like trouble) because they were the ones that caused the vast majority of trouble. The trouble makers always took the piss calling us out as racist when we got them to shove off but it wasn’t the case. Their skin colour wasn’t the issue, the fact that they were complete tossers was the issue. The amount of times I got called out for being racist was funny and sad at the same time. Funny because it wasn’t remotely part of the equation, sad because they couldn’t see why they were being asked to leave and choosing to play the victim card instead.
By the sounds of things these guys fall into the same category of trouble making cocks as the kids I used deal with, just older and prepared to try and make a dollar from it.
If this isn’t the case, and you have to remain open minded, then they deserve to have an unreserved apology (no huge and disproportionate financial reward) from the store manager and the chaps who dealt with them.
Personally though I think if these dudes comes on with a big law suit asking for a pile of cash then there is an ulterior motive to the whole thang.
Sometimes a black male with baggy jeans is from Santa Monica strapped with a Vitamin Water and a yoga mat…
Remember that there are always three sides to a case, the first party’s view, the second party’s view and the truth
As a black male, and someone who has had rather crappy experiences at his local Apple store, I can easily say your statement has that ever popular passive racist tilt. When I had a piss poor experience dealing with a refurbished item, I was asked to fill out a survey. In it I mentioned how Apple employees often would ignore me & choose to help other customers instead around me. I’m not the black male wearing stereotypical ‘gangster’ clothing as you refer to it, but a middle aged black man. I realized that to improve my chances of getting help ( usually meaning paying for a purchase & leaving within the same hour ), I began bringing my attractive girlfriend ( who happens to be white ) with me. She gets help within minutes, then refers the apple employee to me.
The fact that I need a variation of the old hitchhiker bait & switch to get service prompted a call from the store’s manager apologizing.
No I did not ‘go off’ on the manager. I have several years in retail, and though the store is held responsible for the actions of it’s employees. It is the individual employees that make the experience of the store. It’s also the management of the store that sets the tone for employees. Sometimes management is just plain clueless how it’s employees act with their customers. Simply informing management civilly goes a long way.
Also “This is not racist, but even MY BLACK FRIEND says…” reminds me of those old racism awareness commercials with the old man & his grandson in the rowboat.
Boy: Grandpa, yesterday Jimmy said I was prejudiced.Grandpa: Do you know what prejudice is?Boy: No.Grandpa: Well, prejudice is when you react to someone because of their religion, or their color.Boy: But I don’t do that!Grandpa: Who is Jimmy?Boy: Jimmy’s one of my Jewish friends.Grandpa: Then you are prejudiced, because you think of Jimmy as your Jewish friend, and not your friend.I thought it funny that this came to mind
Your kind != race.
Could easily mean the kid was a thug and the guy didn’t want thugs in the store.
Sure, everyone walks into a store and records the entire interaction on their cellphone…..right.
You’re free to wear whatever you want, but if you dress like a hoodlum, I’m going to assume you’re a hoodlum and I’m going to treat you like a hoodlum. I don’t care if you’re black, white, brown, yellow or whatever. I don’t know that I would have asked them to leave, but I certainly would have felt justified in keeping a very close eye on them.
“Racist Genius”? Did you just make this thing up because you wanted more clicks or WTF are you trying to do??!!!
Where in the official document “genius” position is being mentioned? You think that Geniuses are roaming around the store, laying down the law? Have you ever been to any Apple Store?!
Killian, kill yourself.
Don’t you think it’s my job to make headlines that make people want to read a story? Isn’t that every journalist’s job?
“Killian, kill yourself.” I think your pathetic comment is a complete overreaction to a little headline.
Funny how everyone is assuming there is more to the story. So let me get this straight, had the two black men walked into the store wearing khaki pants and Hanson shirts as opposed to what they were wearing in NY city,in the middle if DECEMBER they would have wouldn’t have been kicked out?
I’m sick and tired of ignorant comments. When you have no idea whats its like to be a black man in america its best just not to start your comments off with , I’m not racist or anything or even my black friend.” More than likely YOU ARE a racist, and thats just the truth of the matter.
When i said “If these guys did geuinly do this then they’re a set of dicks and they deserve all they get” I meant the apple guys. But like i said.. why the hell would they just show up at the Apple store with a camera unless they either (A) knew it was going to happen or (B) film everything they do.
(A) just seems “more likely” to me.
I used the words “more likely” because what i said is not factual or actual knowledge but gleaned from the story or more precisely something in the story which didn’t add up.
So more likely to have happened due to the fact that they “happened” to be recording it, what are the chances that they just happened to catch a surprise racist attack on camera, in which the apple guy didn’t see the camera? How stupid would you have to be to walk up to two guys and racially attack them while they have a camera in their hands, the camera must have either been hidden or a 3rd person was filming it which only makes their story less unlikely. I hope you can see my point, although I see little point in trying to prove/disprove this as i have no solid facts, only a partial story but mainly no reason to bother. This is clearly just my opinion based on the story.
“Why the hell would they just show up at the Apple store with a camera” Really? Is it odd to carry your phone into the mall? Read the article again buddy. I take my phone everywhere, the toilet even. Is is really that hard to believe that Apple would hire a couple of rasists? justsayin.
did it ever occur to u dat they might have been previously ejected from d store….getting evidence is not weird or odd its catching some1 in d act. if a lady wears a boob exposing, ultra mini skirt, do u classify that as inappropriate? i have the right to wear baggies and hoodies to wherever, its d responsiblity of the security of watch and intervene if somethin fishy is spotted.
u dont like baggies, i dont like slim jeans. u dont like hoodies i dont like fur coat. u dont like being saught in d act, i dont like being caught in a act like dat…simple enough….its choice as far as they didnt see them behaving suspiciously then they dont have the right to boot some1 out cos of baggies and hoodies….i smell glenn beck here
since d court acknowledged that there is video evidence, quit acting like they r lying
Your right, not implausible they could very well be racist im simply stating that there seems to be some points which people are quick to overlook.
Carrying your phone?.. No, carrying a camera?.. NO, but if they have evidence that this was an attack they must have recorded the whole thing, meaning they were already recording it before the attack started otherwise there is no proof that the apple store guys started anything, its their word against the apple guys and therefore there is no case.
I did say in my original comment that they were probably ejected from the store once before. I agree people should be able to wear what they want.. for example i’m not allowed to wear my hood up in a shopping center yet muslims are free to walk around with their faces covered. I understand that a hood makes some people feel uncomfortable, but you also have to admit so do burkas – which also may i add.. I personally have no problem with, they should be able to wear what they want without prejudice, but if that is right for one then it is right for all.
getting back to the point though…
if the guys went into the store and this happened to them before why didn’t they pull out their phone and record it then? why did they have to come back? what seems “more likely” to me is that something happened in the store first time, they were kicked out and when they came back they came back with a hidden camera and provoked an attack.
this is not me being racist, this is me simply explaining there is a hole in the story which seems to get overlooked quickly and people get called racist. There are a lot of racist people, but not everyone is you cant counter dismiss my claims to any futher effect with the same information mine are formed on. This is pointless.
The comments and over the top speculation, sicken me that in the year 2011 this is the mindset that people have. As a apple user and nyc resident, I could easily see something happening at that store. I have been it that store twice, as a consultant for a truffle company looking to switch to mac and to purchase a ipod touch for my son, and each time I felt uncomfortable with the way the private security and the barrage of apple employees trying to make sure I know they’re here. And I was going to write jobs a email on my experience at that store. It isn’t like that in any other apple store in new york, but that store rest just east of public housing and in a very social and economic diverse population. I have designed/ built and project managed numerous store and banks openings in manhattan I would have to say that for stores zone recover or theft prevention there has been store training and meeting as for what to look out for and how to respond. So direction has been given. But in my life experience I believe people have taking what Prof. Peabody posted doesn’t have a clue. I love apple design philosophy and the innovation that they have brought to the marketplace, but this is something that needs to be checked and corrected even if the suit have no merit. And no I don’t look or dress in typical urban wear.
I wonder whatever happened with this whole thing. Did the cell phone recording ever turn up. is the case still pending.
or did Apple turn up evidence that no one said anything amiss to the two gents who may or may not have been id’d as possible shoplifters at some point (which is why someone might have been ‘invading their personal space’)