‘White, blonde, skinny guy’ playing tennis: Eugenia Kim

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go through Katie Ann Bonillo

A luxury hat maker allegedly excluded black and overweight people from a marketing campaign for a tennis fashion line because “they don’t play” the sport, a lawsuit says. Beyoncé and Madonna have both worn expensive gear from the manufacturer.

“The people who play tennis are white, blonde, skinny,” Eugenia King insisted when questioned about the lack of diversity in promotional materials, her former marketing director claimed in court documents.

Bridgette Sena said her bosses were angry when she and another employee planned to include a plus-size black model in a photo shoot for the new Kim line, and later fired her for complaining.

“I don’t want to hire a black model for a tennis event!” King allegedly said. “I play tennis every day and I’ve never seen a black person. “Other than Serena (Williams), I can’t even think of a black person. “

Kim went on to protest the planned photo shoot, adding: “Why would I shoot an XL model? No one plays XL. “I’ve never seen fat… uh, XL, people play. “

Sena, 47, objected to the April outburst, saying Kim began excluding her from important meetings, slowly absolve her of responsibilities and falsely accused her of stealing company information in an effort to damage her reputation before firing her in June she.

Kim is known for her $65 headbands, more than $200 hats and other luxury accessories. The tennis series that Cena is said to be working on has yet to be released.

Cena’s attorney declined to comment.

“M.S. Sena’s employment has been terminated for cause and we stand by this fact-based decision,” a company spokesperson said. “Eugenia Kim is a fully inclusive, female-owned, minority-owned company. We are committed to creating a respectful environment for all regardless of race, gender, gender identity, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, sexual identity or disability. “We have a zero-tolerance policy against discrimination of any kind. “