At a 2007 showing of Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married in a Dover, Delaware movie theater, the manager of the cinema is alleged to have told a large group of patrons to “be quiet and behave.”
The “condescending tone” was cited as racist because he addressed Black customers.
Manager David Stewart was accused of speaking to audience members like children at a “minority-themed” movie.
The Delaware Supreme Court overturned a decision by the state Human Relations Commission that Stewart’s comments were racist but the Carmike 14 Theater had to pay nearly $80,000 for violating the Delaware Equal Accommodations Law.
Each patron listed in the complaint was awarded $1,500 in damages. The theater was fined $ 5,000 and had to pay $20,000 in plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees and costs.
