Advertising Age republished Crain’s Chicago Business content reporting Mickey D’s and Byron Allen settled the media mogul’s $10 billion discrimination lawsuit.
Reaching a confidential agreement means the public will never learn the amount collected by Allen. The deal includes a McPromise to continue buying advertising from Allen’s Entertainment Studios Network.
Expect to see McWeather Reports delivered by Ronald McDonald and Grimace.
For now, hopefully, Allen feels Black & Positively Golden®.
McDonald’s settles Byron Allen’s $10B ad discrimination lawsuit
McDonald’s has settled a $10 billion lawsuit filed by Byron Allen, apparently ending a years-long legal drama between the fast food giant and media mogul over alleged discrimination in advertising practices.
In a June 13 press release, McDonald’s announced it reached a confidential agreement in which it will continue to purchase advertising from Allen’s Entertainment Studios Network priced at market value in exchange for the network’s dismissal of the suit.
Allen, who owns properties such as The Weather Channel and Justice Central, filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s in 2021, alleging the Chicago-based chain discriminated against his company through racial stereotyping and refusals to contract. Two years later, Allen escalated by buying a full-page ad in the Chicago Tribune soliciting activist investor Carl Icahn to join the legal fight and suing again, alleging McDonald’s was not on track to meet a 2021 commitment to spend more of its advertising budget with Black-owned media companies. That complaint was dismissed in 2024.
The original suit filed in 2021 was slated to go to trial next month.
“We are pleased that Mr. Allen has come to appreciate McDonald’s unwavering commitment to inclusion, and has agreed to refocus his energies on a mutually beneficial commercial arrangement that is consistent with other McDonald’s supplier relationships,” McDonald’s said in the release.
“During the course of this litigation, many of our preconceptions have been clarified, and we acknowledge McDonald’s commitment to investing in Black-owned media properties and increasing access to opportunity,” Entertainment Studios Network said in the McDonald’s release. “Our differences are behind us, and we look forward to working together.”
—Crain’s Chicago Business
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