Written by Joseph X
(Reuters) – The lead singer of the popular Motown band The Four Tops has filed a lawsuit against a hospital in Michigan, claiming he was restrained and denied treatment for a serious heart problem after medical workers did not believe he was a member of the group.
Alexander Morris, who joined the Four Tops in 2018, accused Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital of racial discrimination and negligence in a lawsuit filed in federal court this week.
Morris was taken to the hospital's emergency room in April 2023 with chest pains and difficulty breathing.
When he told a nurse and a security guard that he was a member of the Four Tops and had security concerns about fans and stalkers, the lawsuit says, employees assumed he was mentally ill. Morris was taken off oxygen despite his history of heart problems, restrained and referred to a psychiatrist, according to the lawsuit.
A security guard asked Morris to “sit on his black butt” when Morris tried to prove his identity, according to the lawsuit.
Morris eventually convinced a nurse to show her a video of the Four Tops' recent performance, after which he was unshackled and put back on oxygen, the lawsuit said.
The hospital offered Morris a $25 gift card to a local store as compensation for his experience, but he declined, according to the lawsuit. He seeks compensation of no less than $150,000.
Ascension, the nonprofit company that runs the hospital, declined to comment specifically on the lawsuit, but said: “We remain committed to respecting human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion for all people and the community. We do not condone racial discrimination of any kind.” “.
The Four Tops were a pioneering Motown group in the 1960s, with hits like “Reach Out I'll Be There” and “I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie Honey Bunch).” Three of the original four members have died. The fourth, Abdul “Duke” Fakir, continues to perform with the band.