*A white woman who used to work for Nas’ record label is suing the company and CEO for racial discrimination.
According to The Root, Melissa Cooper worked at Nas’ Mass Appeal from April 2021 to June 2023. She was initially brought on as a consultant and later served as Head of Development. Cooper’s lawsuit alleges she was the target of racial harassment aimed to tarnish her reputation. The lawsuit names the CEO of the label, who is white, the company itself, and one of her former bosses, who is Black, Rolling Stone reports.
Cooper allegedly has screenshots of incriminating messages from Jenya Meggs, Mass Appeal’s Senior Vice President for Partnerships and Acquisition, that were sent to other employees.
The lawsuit argues that Cooper was targeted for termination, and she was the only person let go in June of this year at a time when she was informed by CEO, Peter Bittenbender (who is white) that her firing was because “the company had not sold enough” and “the state of the industry.”
Per Billboard, the lawsuit notes that “no other individual of similar experience or rank at Mass Appeal was terminated.”
Here’s more from Rolling Stone:
The lawsuit specifically singles out the actions of Jenya Meggs, Mass Appeal’s Senior Vice President for Partnerships and Acquisition, who is Black. The suit claims, “Meggs and her cohorts made venomous and racist comments about ‘White folk’ and ‘crackers,’ and bragged that they caused Cooper to shed ‘White tears.’”
Meggs is named as a co-defendant in the lawsuit, along with Mass Appeal and its CEO, Peter Bittenbender, who is white. A rep for Mass Appeal did not immediately return Rolling Stone’s request for comment.
Cooper’s lawsuit includes screenshots sent from Meggs to other employees that highlight a conspiracy to get her fired.
“Allegedly, Copper received the screenshots from Meggs’ disgruntled ex-lover, Michael Harris, who also told her that Meggs and other employees conspired to get her fired from Mass Appeal,” per The Root.
Cooper apparently shared Harris’s texts with Bittenbender, who allegedly said none of the claims were “illegal.”
As Billboard reports, the suit alleges: “When Cooper told Bittenbender she was discriminated against by Meggs, Bittenbender responded by telling her, ‘I am sorry you had to read this but this isn’t illegal.’ Following the conversation, Bittenbender and Mass Appeal conducted no investigation into Melissa’s claims of racial discrimination.”
READ MORE: Rapper Nas Announces His MasterClass on Hip-Hop Storytelling
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