Photo Credit: Nas by Joe Glorioso for All-Pro Reels / CC by 2.0
Nas’ imprint Mass Appeal settles a long-standing legal dispute over allegations of racial discrimination.
New York rapper Nas’ label, Mass Appeal, has finally settled the 2023 racial discrimination lawsuit filed by former executive Melissa Cooper. Cooper, the previous head of development, accused the company of racism and discrimination in October 2023 after her firing in June of that year.
Specifics of the settlement are unknown to the public, but a joint motion was filed between the two parties this past Friday, June 13. The lawsuit has been dismissed with prejudice—meaning it cannot be refiled—with each party bearing their own fees and costs.
The lawsuit stemmed from Cooper, who is white, claiming that former content chief, Jenya Miggs, who is Black, levied animosity toward her for being a “white woman working in hip-hop.” This, Cooper alleged, caused Mass Appeal CEO Peter Bittenbender to pull her from major projects, including the Hip-Hop 50 Live Concert. Ultimately, Cooper was fired from Mass Appeal in June 2023.
Cooper’s complaint primarily centered around her work on a documentary on which she was an executive producer, Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told. Her lawsuit named Bittenbender and Meggs, as well as Mass Appeal itself. Nas, though a founder and partner at Mass Appeal, was not specifically named in the filing.
During her time working on Freaknik, Cooper claimed Meggs created a “hostile work environment” out of jealousy over a white woman working on hip-hop-oriented projects instead of her. This culminated in Cooper’s removal from the company. She also cites several text messages between Meggs and another executive producer on the project who was not employed by Mass Appeal. The texts reflect “breathtaking” amounts of “racial animosity,” according to Cooper’s attorney, Louis Pechman.
Mass Appeal claimed Cooper’s firing was the result of financial strain and a lack of successful projects from her department. Cooper’s lawsuit asserted that Bittenbender and the company overall made no effort to investigate her claims of racial discrimination.
Content shared from www.digitalmusicnews.com.