'Jimmy Fallon' cameramen claim they were fired for being white in NBC lawsuit

Over a dispute arising from a racist text message

(NBC)

Two camera operators on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon have filed a lawsuit against NBC alleging that they were fired for being Caucasian.

Kurt Decker and Michael Cimino, who had over 40 combined years of "spotless" employment at the network, filed at the New York Supreme Court on Wednesday for in excess of $1 million each, claiming Questlove and house band The Roots were partly to blame.

As The Wrap reports, the suit claims that on 19 June, 2017, the pair, along with Roots member Mark Kelley, received an 'unsolicited racist and misogynist text” from a show stagehand.

The claimants reported it to Roots manager Keith McPhee and NBC technical production manager Bryan King and the "“Plaintiffs, who are both Caucasian, were both immediately suspended for having received the unsolicited text message,” while Kelley, “who is African-American, was not.”

It is alleged that Questlove “demanded that Plaintiffs’ employment be terminated” and that Kelley “receive no adverse employment action whatsoever. NBC acquiesced to Questlove’s overtly discriminatory demand.”

The suit summarises: “Simply put, Plaintiffs were terminated because they are Caucasian."

An NBC spokesperson told The Wrap: "NBC is committed to providing a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. We have strong policies in place that protect against discrimination in any form. The decision about these plaintiffs was the company’s alone.”