Meta Platforms Inc. and three entertainment industry groups are the latest companies sued by former Trump aide Stephen Miller’s nonprofit for allegedly discriminating against white individuals.
The conservative foundation America First Legal alleges that Meta, which owns Facebook, “conspired” against white people when hiring for a television commercial it was producing with the ad agency BBDO Worldwide and the production studio Something Ideal Inc. The Association of Independent Commercial Producers, a national trade association, is also listed as a defendant in the complaint.
The companies are alleged to have discriminated against film and TV electrician James Harker of Brooklyn, N.Y., who claims to have been denied work opportunities in favor of people of color because of the “Double the Line program,” while working for the defendants on a production last December.
The AICP’s “Double the Line” program was launched in December 2020 and essentially allows for a commercial production to double the number of positions and hire more people of color. Over a dozen high-profile companies, including Amazon, Ford Motor Company and Chase Bank, support the initiative, according to the AICP’s website.
Harker said in the lawsuit that he was required to report to a non-white employee who, he claims, was paid more than he was and lacked “any experience” in their position. The plaintiff added he has not been hired for any projects by the defendants since the production ended.
Although he filed a charge with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging discrimination, the agency in June declined to investigate or make a determination, according to the lawsuit.
“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,” America First Legal’s Director of Oversight and Investigations Reed Rubinstein said in a statement.
This is just the latest lawsuit in a series of actions taken by America First Legal and other groups to attack “woke” politics and diversity initiatives. The conservative foundation filed an EEOC complaint against Kellogg Company last month, alleging that its leadership development program aimed at women illegally gives women preference in hiring and job advancement.
The group also sued Progressive Insurance, alleging that the company’s Black-owned small business grants were racist, and Target for allegedly misleading investors on the impact of the backlash against its Pride month collection.
Representatives for Meta Platforms, BBDO Worldwide, Something Ideal and The Association of Independent Commercial Producers did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Messenger.
