by a federal judge in California, is now scheduled to go to trial in September, according to court documents.
In a statement, McDonald’s said it would defend itself “vigorously” against the litigation, which it described as “baseless lawsuits as part of a public smear campaign against our company to try to line his pockets.” The company maintains it was spending more than 2% of its advertising budget with Black-owned media by the end of 2021. McDonald’s also said it had established a diverse marketing advisory council and “made investments in multi-year partnerships with diverse-owned media companies.”
The lawsuit claims the plaintiffs represent “in excess of 90% of the market of African American-owned linear television and digital media properties.”