Mass Appeal, the multimedia company co-founded by hip-hop icon Nas, was hit on Tuesday with a discrimination lawsuit in which a white executive claims she was the victim of “venomous and racist comments about ‘White folk’ and ‘crackers,’” and was subsequently fired.
Filed in a federal court in Manhattan, the lawsuit specifies the races of the parties due to the nature of the allegations. Melissa Cooper, a veteran documentary producer who was head of development at Mass Appeal and is white, alleges that company executives — including Peter Bittenbender, the company’s chief executive who is also white, and Jenya Meggs, its senior vp for partnerships & content acquisition, who is Black — “discriminated against her by removing her from several high value projects, creating a hostile work environment, and terminating her employment.”
Nas is not specifically named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but he is a partner in Mass Appeal, which is named.
Filed in a federal court in Manhattan, the lawsuit specifies the races of the parties due to the nature of the allegations. Melissa Cooper, a veteran documentary producer who was head of development at Mass Appeal and is white, alleges that company executives — including Peter Bittenbender, the company’s chief executive who is also white, and Jenya Meggs, its senior vp for partnerships & content acquisition, who is Black — “discriminated against her by removing her from several high value projects, creating a hostile work environment, and terminating her employment.”
Nas is not specifically named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but he is a partner in Mass Appeal, which is named.
- 10/17/2023
- by Allen Salkin
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Hulu is adding three new titles to its growing lineup of original docs: “Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told,” “Queenmaker: The Making of An It Girl,” and “The Jewel Thief.”
“Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” “recounts the rise and fall of a small Atlanta Hbcu picnic that exploded into an influential street party and spotlighted Atl as a major cultural stage,” per Hulu’s description. “Can the magic of Freaknik be brought back 40 years later?
Executive producers include showrunner Geraldine L. Porras and director P Frank Williams, as well as Jermaine Dupri, Luther Campbell, Peter Bittenbender and Melissa Cooper for Mass Appeal, Eric Tomosunas for Swirl Films, Terry Ross and Alex Avant. Nikki Byles and Jay Allen are producers.
From MRC, “Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl” reveals the story behind the now-defunct “Park Avenue Peerage” blog. “In the height of heiress-era NYC, an anonymous blogger infiltrated Manhattan’s elite,...
“Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told” “recounts the rise and fall of a small Atlanta Hbcu picnic that exploded into an influential street party and spotlighted Atl as a major cultural stage,” per Hulu’s description. “Can the magic of Freaknik be brought back 40 years later?
Executive producers include showrunner Geraldine L. Porras and director P Frank Williams, as well as Jermaine Dupri, Luther Campbell, Peter Bittenbender and Melissa Cooper for Mass Appeal, Eric Tomosunas for Swirl Films, Terry Ross and Alex Avant. Nikki Byles and Jay Allen are producers.
From MRC, “Queenmaker: The Making of an It Girl” reveals the story behind the now-defunct “Park Avenue Peerage” blog. “In the height of heiress-era NYC, an anonymous blogger infiltrated Manhattan’s elite,...
- 4/6/2023
- by Jennifer Maas
- Variety Film + TV
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