Sony Blasts ‘Contradictory And False’ Lawsuit Accusing Columbia Records Of Discriminating Against White Applicants

Sony Music is fighting back against a lawsuit accusing Columbia Records of discriminating against white job applicants.

Columbia Records was named in a new lawsuit filed by Patria Paulino, the former executive assistant of chief executive Ron Perry, per The Hollywood Reporter. According to the suit, filed Feb. 28 in New York federal court, Paulino was forced to resign after opposing alleged discriminatory hiring practices that required her to hire a Black person for a vacant administrative assistant position.

Paulino claims she was tasked with making a diversity hire for the role due to the multiple racial discrimination complaints Perry faced from former employees. However, she was forced to quit her job after recommending non-Black candidates for an administrative position, the suit states.

The lawsuit cites several text messages between her and Perry’s former executive assistant turned director of business development Samantha Sachs, who allegedly stressed how “important” race was in the hiring decision.

“We can’t hire another white Jewish girl,” Sachs reportedly wrote in response to a non-Black candidate Paulino expressed interest in interviewing.

Following a “sham interview” process, two Black candidates were recommended for Perry to review, the lawsuit states. Paulino claims she was then forced to resign for opposing the discriminatory hiring practice.

Columbia’s parent company, Sony Music Entertainment, filed a scathing first response on Wednesday, March 6, accusing Paulino of making “contradictory and false” statements about her five-month tenure with the music giant.

“She alleges under New York State and New York City law that Defendants both discriminated against her because they preferred white employees but also constructively discharged her because she would not play along with their preference for non-white employees,” the filing states.

“In reality, Plaintiff worked for Sony Music Entertainment for less than five months, performed poorly, and was a willing participant in the entirely legal hiring practices she now alleges were discriminatory. She then voluntarily resigned after receiving unfavorable performance feedback. She seeks now to harass her former employer and boss, who sought only to help her succeed in her job.”

The suit also cites Perry’s former administrative assistant, who applied for the executive assistant position but was turned down in favor of Paulino, who is Hispanic. Paulino claims she was a “diversity hire” who was subjected to Perry treating her as though she was less qualified due to her race.

Paulino claims Perry would “demean, humiliate and criticize her,” the lawsuit states. He allegedly said her “anxiety is coming across in the work” and that her only responses to him should be “Yes,” “No,” or “I will find out.”

“Perry did not speak to Caucasian employees in this degrading manner,” the complaint states.

Paulino is seeking unspecified damages for alleged discrimination, retaliation, and aiding and abetting. The suit comes one week after CBS Studios and its parent, Paramount, were sued for allegedly discriminating against straight white men by carrying out diversity quotas.