McDonald’s faces new lawsuit over its advertising spending with Black-owned media

McDonald’s is facing a new lawsuit over how it spends its advertising dollars.

The lawsuit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court by companies owned by media executive Byron Allen, who has previously sued McDonald’s over alleged racial discrimination in its advertising practices. The companies that filed Thursday’s suit are Entertainment Studios Networks Inc. and Weather Group LLC.

The lawsuit hinges on a commitment McDonald’s made in the spring of 2021 to increase the share of advertising dollars it was spending with Black-owned media from 2% to 5% between 2021 and 2024. The lawsuit alleges McDonald’s “did not come close” to spending 2% of its advertising budget with Black-owned media in 2021 and that it is not on track to spend 5% by next year.