'Clipped' Episode 4: Inside Donald Sterling's forgotten discrimination lawsuit from 2003
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: As 'Clipped' on Hulu revisits Donald Sterling's 2014 scandal that started with a leaked audio tape containing his racist remarks for African-Americans (including Magic Johnson), one can't miss out on the 2003 lawsuit against him in which he was accused of racial discrimination.
The preceding discrimination case is briefly mentioned in 'Clipped' Episode 4, released on June 18, 2024.
Donald Sterling was sued for housing discrimination in 2003
The Sterling Family Trust owned over 140 buildings with more than 8,000 rental units in LA, Malibu, Long Beach, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Santa Monica.
In 2003, tenants of some of his buildings sued him, alleging that he was trying to force African-Americans and Latinos to vacate the rental units in favour of Korean-Americans.
'Clipped' Episode 4 showcases Shelly Sterling discovering that the usage of Korean flag in their ads gave away the impression that they preferred Korean applicants over other races.
Sterlings even changed the names of several buildings to include words like 'Korean' or 'Asian'.
As per the court documents, Sterling told the building staff that he did not like Hispanic or African-American tenants and even made derogatory remarks against them.
They even refused to accept rent from Black American and Latino tenants and then accused them of faltering payments, making it as an excuse to get them evicted, says a report by CNN.
The case was dismissed in 2005 for an undisclosed amount.
Donald Sterling again landed in soup for discrimination in 2006
In 2006, The US Department of Justice sued Donald Sterling for housing discrimination. A report by ESPN from 2006 mentioned that Federal prosecutors accused Sterling and his trust of refusing to rent their properties to many prospective tenants and treated them poorly on the basis of their ethnicity.
In 2009, Sterling paid $2.7 million as settlement and agreed not to discriminate among tenants. He also consented to pay for the training for building managers on the provisions of the Fair Housing Act.
'Clipped' on Hulu doesn't miss out on Donald Sterling's past records of racism and discrimination while delving into the biggest scandal of his life that got him banned from NBA for life.
How to stream 'Clipped'?
'Clipped' premiered on June 4, 2024 on Hulu, with two episodes. Four of the six episodes have been released so far while the remaining two will drop in upcoming weeks.
'Clipped' is available to stream on Hulu and Disney+.
'Clipped' trailer