McDonald’s and Byron Allen Reach a $10 Billion Settlement in Their Racial Discrimination Case

A fast food chain and a black media mogul settle a big ad discrimination case just weeks before the trial.

Media mogul Byron Allen and McDonald’s have made a confidential settlement. This ends a huge $10 billion lawsuit that accused the company of racial discrimination in its ads.

Allen said that the fast-food chain purposely left out of its bigger advertising budget his Black-owned media companies, such as The Weather Channel and a few entertainment networks. He said that McDonald’s put his sites in a much smaller ad category for “Black-focused” media, which hurt their ability to make money and reach people.

The case was supposed to go to trial next month in federal court in Los Angeles, but the deal on Friday ends it early. Allen had sued for $100 million in California state court, but the deal settles that case too.

Even though the money details weren’t said, it looks like both sides are ready to move forward. Allen’s businesses praised McDonald’s efforts to put more money into Black-owned media, and as part of its larger plan, McDonald’s promised to buy ads at market value. The company said they did nothing wrong.

Allen’s media empire owns more than 90% of Black-owned media in the U.S. He said that McDonald’s had broken a public promise to spend 5% more on ads with Black-owned sources by 2024, up from 2% now.