Questlove is being hit with a lawsuit, and it's for literally the last thing you would ever expect. According to TMZ, a couple former NBC employees are suing The Roots musician for racial discrimination after they were fired for receiving racist text messages they never responded to or asked to be sent in the first place. The texts were reportedly sent in a groupchat.
Apparently, Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino, two former camera operators for The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, where Questlove plays drums with The Roots, are claiming NBC had them fired at the behest the musician. The two are now suing both Questlove and the network.
Decker and Cimino say this saga began when they, along with Roots bassist Mark Kelley, received “an unsolicited racist and misogynist text message from a Tonight Show stagehand” last June. In the lawsuit, the two claim they reported the text message to both The Roots' manager and an NBC technical production manager.
Decker and Cimino claim that they were both suspended after reporting the text, but Kelley, who's Black, wasn't. They go on to say that Questlove wanted all the White people involved with the text to be fired, and pressured NBC to handle the firings.
In a statement to the celebrity gossip site, NBC says, "NBC 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."
For his part, Questlove vehemently denies any claims racism. "Racism is REAL and exists throughout the world and for these gentlemen to claim victim is not only disrespectful to Questlove and his band mates, but to all that truly endure racism on a daily basis," reads a statement from his representative.