A Mercury Prize-winning rapper has been ordered to pay damages after suing Arts Council England for race discrimination over a reimbursement request for takeaways. The case, which was dismissed, led to significant legal costs being sought by the Arts Council.
A Mercury Prize-winning rapper has been ordered to pay Arts Council England £10,000 after suing them for race discrimination - because they asked her to repay them for takeaways she bought on her work card. Corynne Elliot, known as Speech Debelle, claimed the organisation was 'bugging' her for asking for four months' worth of food and taxi journeys she had paid for with a procurement card.
As part of her case, the 41-year-old also told an employment tribunal that being asked to talk about her knowledge of hip-hop culture was harassment. After her case was dismissed, the charity sought to recover their legal costs from Miss Elliot and her solicitors, saying it could have been up to £40,000. In June this year, she setup a fundraiser to 'raise awareness and case costs' which only saw 60 people donate £1,273 out of the £5,000 goal. However, she has now been ordered to pay £9,870 with an employment judge declaring that bringing these discrimination allegations was 'dreadful and unacceptable' behaviour. EJ Garry Smart said: 'Discrimination allegations are damaging to people emotionally, physically and reputationally, after all, any serious allegations are unpleasant and can result, even if the allegations have been disproven beyond any doubt, in the accused becoming stigmatised just as much as the accuser might be.' Miss Elliot won the Mercury Prize in 2009 for her debut album, Speech Therapy, and a remix of the lead single 'Spinnin' was an official anthem for the London 2012 Olympic
RACISM DISCRIMINATION ARTS COUNCIL LEGAL COSTS RAPPERS
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