Devin Barnes denies the use of the racial slur.
Last September, Toni Christina Jenkins, a waitress at a Tennessee Red Lobster, accused a customer of not leaving a tip, and instead writing a racial slur on the receipt.
“This is what I got as a tip last night…so happy to live in the proud southern states…God Bless America, land of the free and home of the low class racists of Tennessee,” Jenkins wrote underneath the picture.
Barnes additionally claims that his reputation has suffered lasting damage because Red Lobster let Jenkins publicize his name and information, The Tennessean reports.
Barnes denies writing the n-word, and says he didn't leave a tip because he had placed a takeout order.
Barnes' pastor and attorney, Richard Dugger, who filed the suit, said the incident has caused his client to receive "threats from all over the world," and he believes Barnes has suffered "great harm and mental anguish."
"The plaintiff is not now, nor has he ever been, a 'racist;' but now as a result of the defendant's acts and omissions to act, your plaintiff has been tagged a 'racist' world wide," the suit says.
The suit also says that Jenkins exploited Barnes (pictured above) and intentionally dramatized the issue "to a point that she profited from it."
Jenkins did end up making some money from the incident.
After the story went viral, Matthew Hanson, founder of AddictingInfo.org, collected donations from over 1,000 people worldwide for Jenkins through an online fundraiser called "Tips for Toni." In Sept., Hanson presented Jenkins — who was unaware of the fundraiser at the time — with a check for $10,719.
WATE.COM / Via nydailynews.com
from BuzzFeed - Breaking http://ift.tt/1ieWtV2
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