Barneys Facing Suit After Discriminating Against Black Shopper

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Today in stories that will make you lose faith in humanity, a young black male shopper has filed a lawsuit against Barneys for what happened to him when he tried to use his savings to shop at the retailer this spring.

The story goes like this. 19-year-old Trayon Christian, a college student who lives with his mom in Queens, saved up money from his part-time job to purchase a belt he had seen on his favorite rapper. He went to Barneys and purchased the $320 Ferragamo accessory with his debit card. At the register, he was asked to show ID, which he did. He purchased the belt, left, and was grabbed by undercover cops, who had been called by the Barneys cashier, after he had exited. They then took the teen to a local precinct and held him there despite the fact that he had proof of purchase and ID. It took a call to the bank to confirm that the debit card was indeed Christian's for the cops to let him go. According to the lawsuit, the officers asked him, "how a young black man such as himself could afford to purchase such an expensive belt."

Christian ended up returning the belt and vowed to never shop at Barneys again, saying "It's cruel. It's racist."
· 'His only crime was being a young black guy buying a $300 belt': Queens student arrested after buying Ferragamo belt sues Barneys [Daily Mail]
· Barneys accused teen of using fake debit card for $349 belt because he's a 'young black American male': lawsuit [NYDN]