America First Legal has filed a lawsuit in New York on Wednesday, targeting widespread illegal and racist employment practices in the entertainment business.
Something Ideal, Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc. and the Association of Independent Producers (AICP) are among those listed in the lawsuit brought forth by a behind-the-scenes worker in the entertainment industry.
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According to an America First Legal statement, “Meta Platforms, Inc., known as Meta, is the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Meta was producing a TV commercial with the ad agency BBDO and the production company Something Ideal, Inc. Each of these entities allegedly conspired and agreed to enter into agreements to hire only BIPOC individuals (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) solely based on race and sex for leadership positions—regardless of qualifications—on the film set through a program that AICP created called ‘Double the Line.’”
The complaint alleges that these defendants conspired, agreed to, and put into practice a racially discriminatory “apprenticeship” program called “#DoubletheLine” in clear violation of 42 U.S.C. 1981, 1985(3), Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, and the New York Human Rights Law, which all guarantee race neutrality. AICP’s “#DoubletheLine” promotion led to agreements for the label of DTL to be added only to persons of color on call sheets and payroll, who then obtain positions only for BIPOC individuals, including leadership roles.
AFL’s client is James Harker, a white, male electrician who worked on television and film productions for over 25 years.
AFL claims despite Harker’s resume, he was required to report to a BIPOC employee who had no experience or qualifications as an electrician.
Since this experience working on the Meta commercial, AFL’s client claims he has been denied work in the commercial film industry.
In a statement Reed D. Rubinstein, Senior Counselor and Director of Oversight and Investigations at AFL said:
“For many decades, New York and Federal law have prohibited discrimination based on race, color, national origin, and sex. The Defendants, with their morally twisted “woke” view that racism, bigotry, and sexism actually are perfectly fine whenever they decide it to be so, have arrogantly declared themselves above the law. But our brave client and millions of other Americans of good faith have had enough. The Defendants here, and the entertainment industry more generally, will soon find out that the cost of racialist virtue signaling has gone up.”
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