Louis Vuitton Sued for Racial Discrimination Over Allegedly Banning Three Black Customers From California Store
A mother-daughter duo and their family friend allege mistreatment by Louis Vuitton stores in California.
Louis Vuitton has been sued for racial discrimination, in a situation that allegedly involves three Black individuals who patronized its California stores.
According to TMZ, a mother-daughter duo has claimed that they were treated unfairly at LV stores in Costa Mesa and Beverly Hills. Per legal documents, Tracy Renee Williams claims she preordered merchandise worth $50,000 at the Costa Mesa LV store, which she didn't receive. When visiting a Beverly Hills location, she was told that she was unwelcome there and threatened with arrest if she stayed or returned. The lawsuit states that Williams has not received her $50,000 purchase and was not issued a refund.
When sending her white assistant to the Beverly Hills store the next day, Williams claims they were not discriminated against and were able to make a cash purchase of several thousand dollars.
Williams' daughter, Brandi, claims she was also the victim of discrimination at the Beverly Hills LV, where employees accused her of using "drug money" and also threatened to have her arrested. The woman also claims that a similar incident happened to her at an LV store in New Orleans.
Their family friend, Kristopher Enoch, claims that he received an email notifying him that he was blacklisted from LV stores after allegedly being refused a jacket that was shown to a white customer. The three individuals are now seeking damages, including punitive damages, and are demanding that Louis Vuitton cease blacklisting them.
Even Oprah Winfrey, one of the wealthiest Black women in the world, has claimed that she was refused a handbag while shopping at a Louis Vuitton in Italy. On a past episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey shared that while on a vacation in Rome with Gayle King and her daughter, Kirby Bumpus, an employee told her that a bag she was interested in was reserved for Italian customers.
