Shoe company accused of racism towards Serena Williams

Managers for the luxury shoe company Gianvito Rossi called tennis star Serena Williams "disgusting" and refused to give her the same discounts as white celebrities, a former employee claims in a stunning new racial discrimination lawsuit.

Whitney Wilburn, who is black, says she was recruited to work for Gianvito Rossi in 2015 from "another Madison Avenue fashion house" where she'd been for five years.

But once she was hired to run the Manhattan boutique, her boss, Grace Mazzilli, was immediately "hostile to Wilburn based upon her race and age," the suit alleges.

Wilburn, 46, claims in the Manhattan civil suit that her "experience with Mazzilli left no doubt about Mazzilli's racial animosity toward African-Americans."

"For instance, when the world famous athlete Serena Williams, via her staff, asked for a discount on her extensive purchases, Gianvito managers responded with racially disparaging comments about Ms.

Williams which made it clear that the company did not want African-American women to wear its shoes," the suit says.

The managers "referred to Ms. Williams as 'disgusting' and refused to offer any discount," according to court papers.

Read more: Tennis: Shoe company accused of racism towards Serena Williams

Sorry conservatives but taxpayers don't pay for Michelle Obama's clothes

I was happy to read this article because conservatives are always looking to attack the Obama's in any way they can. Whether or not those accusations are true or not they never miss a chance to get in a cheap shot. Some conservatives have wondered aloud how First Lady Michelle Obama affords her glamorous clothes. ( Yes I know they never wondered how Mrs. Reagan or either Mrs. Bush afforded their's. Wonder why?) Well this article by Nancy Benac puts that nonsense to rest once and for all. George Cook AfricanAmericanReports.com.

Michelle Obama's fashionable clothing has become something of a given in her five-plus years as first lady. Yet her wardrobe still is the subject of endless public fascination and one long-simmering question: Who pays for those incredible outfits?

It's no small matter. Her high-low fashion choices mix everyday, off-the-rack fare with custom creations from top designers whose gowns can run into five figures.

In recent weeks, Mrs. Obama has turned heads with a forest-green Naeem Khan dress at the opening of a new costume gallery at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. She shimmered in a silver Marchesa gown at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. And her flowered shirtdress for a Mother's Day tea at the White House (recycled from an earlier event) hit the just right note for an audience of military moms.

It takes money to pull that off, month after month. Those three dresses by themselves could add up to more than $15,000 retail, not to mention accessories such as shoes and jewelry.

Is it the taxpayers who foot the bill? No. (Despite what critics say.)

Is it Mrs. Obama? Usually, but not always.

Does she pay full price? Not likely.

Read more: Who pays for first lady's fabulous fashions?