NBC, Questlove Looking to Have Discrimination Lawsuit Thrown Out

NBC and musician Questlove have found themselves on the receiving end of a racial discrimination lawsuit over the past few months, but now they want it all tossed out of court.

The Blast reported in January that two former employees on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon claimed they were fired from the show because Questlove targeted them for being white. Questlove, real name Ahmir Khalib Thompson, performs nightly on the show with his band, The Roots.

The two accusers are Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino, who worked as camera operators on the show and claimed in June 2017 they received, “an unsolicited racist and misogynist text message from a Tonight Show stagehand.” Neither man responded, opting instead to show the texts to The Roots’ manager Keith McPhee and NBC technical production manager Bryon King. They claim they were both suspended on the spot for alerting McPhee and King and claimed The Roots’ bassist Mark Kelley also received the text and was spared of any punishment.

Following a weeks-long investigation, Questlove reportedly “pressured NBC to fire all of the Caucasian employees involved in the incident.” That meant Decker and Cimino got the boot.

Both of the accused parties responded to the original report. NBC told The Blast in a statement that the network 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. The decision about these plaintiffs was the company’s alone.”

Questlove’s rep also reached out to The Blast, saying the drummer “denies the ridiculous allegations made in this lawsuit. Racism is REAL and exists throughout the world and for these gentlemen to claim victim is not only disrespectful to Questlove and his bandmates, but to all that truly endure racism on a daily basis.”

The Blast reported on Friday that NBC and Questlove officially responded to the lawsuit with a claim saying “at no time prior to commencing this action did Plaintiffs or the Union file a grievance relating to these allegations or submit any claim to Solutions (NBC’s alternative dispute resolution program).”

The defendants have requested the trial be moved to arbitration or dismissed all together. A judge has reportedly not decided on their request as of Friday night.