AT&T Exec’s Racist Text Spawns $100M Suit

LOS ANGELES (CN) - A black AT&T employee sued the company for $100 million in state court on Monday, claiming a senior executive sent a racist text from a company phone and that board members allowed him to stay in his position.

Knoyme King claims that her boss, content and advertising sales president Aaron Slator, sent an image of an African child that included the tag "It's Friday N****s," calling the image an "'oldie but goodie.'"

"Slator transmitted these images on his work phone, evidencing deep-rooted racial bigotry in his place of employment," King's 31-page state court civil complaint states.

Louis Miller with Miller Barondess filed the lawsuit on King's behalf in Los Angeles County Superior Court against AT&T, Slator and six other executives.

Last year, the firm filed a lawsuit alleging discrimination against AT&T on behalf of the National Association of African-American Owned Media.

AT&T did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment Monday afternoon.

King, who has worked at AT&T for 30 years, says the AT&T board knew that Slator had sent the image from a company phone but only "interviewed AT&T employees to determine whether anyone other than Slator's executive assistant had seen the images."

"AT&T wanted to ensure that it could keep Slator's racism under wraps. AT&T has allowed Slator to continue - unabated and unchecked - in his position as president," the complaint states.

Currently a content coordinator at AT&T U-verse, King says that she applied for a job as Slator's executive assistant but was passed over for younger "non-African American" employees.

Slator controls a multibillion budget at the company and has final say over U-verse content, according to the lawsuit.

Alleging unlawful age, race and sex discrimination, harassment and retaliation, King claims that she is being pushed out of the company "under the guise of taking 'early retirement.'"

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