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Mass Appeal Imprint has come under fire after a high-ranking former employee accused the media company of racial discrimination in a new lawsuit.
According to Hollywood Reporter, former head of development Melissa Cooper filed suit against the multimedia company in a Manhattan court on Tuesday (October 17). Cooper (a white woman) alleges she was the victim of “venomous and racist comments about ‘white folk’ and ‘crackers,’” and was eventually fired.
Among the claims in her filing, Cooper said some of the racist commentary happened while working on the Freaknik documentary that’s set to air on Hulu in 2024. Jenya Meggs (a Black woman) who is the senior vice president for partnerships and content acquisition at Mass Appeal, was allegedly upset she wasn’t on the doc while Cooper was, and allegedly texted an executive producer it was “usual white folk behavior.”
Cooper alleges things eventually got hostile between her and Meggs and as a result, Cooper was removed from projects by Peter Bittenbender, the company’s chief executive – who is white.
“Bittenbender removed Cooper from a number of projects, including Mass Appeal’s Hip Hop 50 Live concert at Yankee Stadium planned for August 11, 2023,” the suit reads. “Cooper’s removal from this important project, along with others Meggs was staffed on, effectively stripped Cooper of her primary role at Mass Appeal.”
Eventually, Cooper was let go in June, and she alleges that no investigation into her claims of racial discrimination was conducted.
