B movie producer Randall Emmett has been accused of racial discrimination, racist behavior and fostering a hostile workplace environment by his former assistant in a new lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court.
Through his attorney, Suann MacIsaac, Emmett denies all accusations, saying that the lawsuit is the latest attempt of the plaintiff to extort thousands of dollars from her client.
Martin G’Blae, 29, worked for Emmett and his production company Furla Oasis in 2020 and was a production assistant on the film “Midnight in the Switchgrass.” G’Blae was later terminated and in his lawsuit, he alleges that Emmett fired him in part because he is Black.
G’Blae says he was hired as an “executive assistant” but ended up being put to work as Emmett’s personal assistant. In this capacity, G’Blae says he was required to clean the company’s office, arrange travel, shop for Emmett and his family, feed Emmett’s dogs, and also handle several financial transactions on Emmett’s behalf, including company payroll.
He also accuses Emmett of requiring him to pay “prostitutes and drug dealers” on Emmett’s behalf and do “everything else Emmett and others asked.”
G’Blae also says that he was denied lawful breaks and wasn’t fairly compensated for his work, and experienced verbal abuse.
In addition to the accusations of a hostile workplace and unlawful terminations, G’Blae says he witnessed Emmett expressing racist views on several occasions. “One time, while watching African American rapper Cardi B on TV, EMMETT called her a ‘ratchet b—-,’ and expressed that he had trouble understanding what she was saying,” the lawsuit said, adding that Emmett also asked G’Blae to “translate” the rapper for him.
The lawsuit also says Emmett made stereotypical comments about G’Blae regarding a lunch of chicken and waffles, expressed disdain for the George Floyd protests and made racist comments about several Black entertainers.
“Throughout his employment with Defendants, EMMETT treated G’BLAE markedly worse than his non-African American coworkers. He was given more work to do than the other assistants and interns, and was regularly given the more degrading tasks,” the lawsuit says. G’Blae also accuses Emmett of treating him poorly because he is Muslim.
G’Blae says Emmett falsely held him responsible for the theft of his car, and later cited this incident when firing him. The lawsuit says G’Blae is seeking redress for lost income and lost career opportunities in an amount to be determined at trial.
Responding to TheWrap, Emmett’s attorney, MacIsaac, said: “Randall Emmett has never used a racially derogatory term in his life and Mr. G’Blae knows it. Mr. G’Blae has been attempting to extort thousands of dollars from Mr. Emmett for months. Although he claims he is owed for past expenses, Mr. G’Blae’s story perpetually changes and he has refused to back up any of the supposed unpaid expenses. Mr. Emmett looks forward to vigorously defending this action and exposing Mr. G’Blae for the fraud that he is.”
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
