Shutterstock Defeats Blackface-Tied Race Bias, Retaliation Suit

Shutterstock Inc. quashed litigation from an ex-employee alleging the photo distributor had a racially hostile work environment and refused to take down blackface images from its content library.

Phillip Thompson’s claims were dismissed with prejudice since he failed to offer sufficient evidence of race discrimination and retaliation, Judge Jessica G.L. Clarke said in a Wednesday opinion granting summary judgment to Shutterstock in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

In regard to Thompson’s claim of weekly exposure to blackface, the district court said that evidence ...