Metro Atlanta movie studio, town hit with racial discrimination lawsuit
The Town of Trilith and Trilith Studios has been sued for racial discrimination by a group of Black residents. (Town of Trilith)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - A group of Black Georgia residents have filed a racial discrimination lawsuit against the prominent studio that's home to the state's Marvel productions and the town associated with it.
Located about a half an hour from Downtown Atlanta, Trilith, formerly known as Pinewood Studios, is the Fayetteville movie studio where movies like the recent "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever" and other Disney, Marvel and Netflix productions were filmed. Connected to the studio is the Town of Trilith, a community of around 300 homes marketed toward creatives with amenities including a fully autonomous grocery store. The area provides housing for employees of the studios and other film production companies in the area.
In the lawsuit, filed in Fulton County Superior Court, five Black residents of the town allege that they came to the area "seeking diversity and inclusion" but experienced multiple incidents of racial discrimination in the four years they lived there.
According to the complaint, the Triltih Homeowner's Association "actively prioritized" white resident's requests for design alterations and repairs while rejected those of the Black homeowners - preventing them from fixing a leaky roof that they had requested multiple times to be repaired or replaced.
In another case, the lawsuit alleges that a resident's child had the police called on him while playing basketball in the town's recreational facilities because they believed he was "an unauthorized person using the Town of Trilith’s facilities." The officer then allegedly followed the teen home.
The residents also accuse the leadership of Trillith of not taking action against a white resident who allegedly banged on the front door of her Black neighbor's home before calling the homeowner and another Black resident a racial slur.
When they tried to address these issues, the residents say that they were "subjected to retaliation through coercion, threats and intimidation by representatives of Trilith." The lawsuit contends that a Black resident of Trilith and an employee of Trilith Development who served as a community leader was fired and "banned from all future endeavors" at the town because he requested to speak to Dan Cathy, the former CEO of Chick-Fil-A whose family trust owns Trilith Studios.
Speaking to the Daily Beast in August, Trilith denied the allegations, saying "Trilith is a place for everyone," but did not clarify any inaccuracies in the allegations.
The lawsuit names Trilith Development, Trilith Studios, Trilith Owners Association, and the Townhomes at Trilith Homeowner's Association. The plaintiffs are asking for punitive as well as emotional damages.
You can read the full lawsuit below: