In-House Attorney Josephine Robinson Sues Gucci for Racism, Claims Boss Referenced "Three-Fifths Clause" During Meeting

Gucci America accused of racism in lawsuit filed by in-house attorney Josephine Robinson, who claims company exec made reference to "Three-Fifths Clause" of U.S. Constitution when he requested black coffee with three-fifths bag of Equal.

For all those blacks who love Gucci so much, the company's American division is being sued by an in-house attorney, Josephine Robinson, alleging racism. She was the same person who made headlines with an allegation that the company tried to underpay Rihanna because she is black. Ms. Robinson alleges she was terminated in part because of her repeated complaints about offensive and racist comments made by her boss supervising attorney Stan Sherwood. One comment bears repeating -- the "Three-Fifths Clause" in the U.S. Constitution.

Ms. Robinson, who describes herself in the complaint as a "dark-skinned, Latin female of West Indian national origin," alleges at a June 2010 meeting, Sherwood asked for "black, black, black coffee with three-fifths of equal sugar." She claims that was a dig at the "Three-Fifths Clause" in the U.S. Constitution, Law.com says.

Robinson filed her suit on June 1 in U.S. district federal court in Manhattan. According to her LinkedIn profile, she attended law school at Pace University and New York University, and worked at the law firm of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCoy prior to joining Gucci in March 2008.

In addition to Gucci itself, Robinson's suit names three of the company's employees as defendants, including her boss, international tax counsel Stan Sherwood. According to his LinkedIn profile, Sherwood was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers and one of its predecessor firms for almost two decades before joining Gucci in 2000. Source

Well, the allegations are certainly disturbing, but Gucci will have its day in court to respond. Until then, we are withholding any comments. It will certainly be an interesting case to follow, especially if Gucci opts to settle this mess out of court. In the meantime, Ms. Robinson needs to proceed cautiously because her background will be scrutinized to see if she is a so-called rabblerouser who likes to scream racism for everything. Just saying....