Fast food franchise giant McDonald’s will be bracing for a reported US $10 billion lawsuit from media mogul Byron Allen over allegations that the chain discriminates its advertising with Black-owned media.

Reports assert that a federal court ruling last week gave Allen and his company; Allen Media Group, the thumbs up prove in court that McDonald’s violated civil rights laws.

In a press release; Allen shared that only a small portion — approximately US $5 million of McDonald’s US $1.6 billion annual advertising budget is channeled to Black-owned media.

He also claims that the company has “refused to advertise” on his networks, which include the Weather Channel and Comedy.TV.

The business mogul also accuses McDonald’s of relegating his networks to an “African American tier” which commands a minor ad spend and deprives the channels of millions of dollars in annual revenue.

“This is about economic inclusion of African American-owned businesses in the US economy,” Allen said in the press release.

“McDonald’s takes billions from African American consumers and gives almost nothing back” he added.

“The biggest trade deficit in America is the trade deficit between White corporate America and Black America, and McDonald’s is guilty of perpetuating this disparity ” the release continued.

In response, McDonald’s lawyer Loretta Lynch said that the evidence will reveal that the Franchise does not discriminate and that the allegations in Allen’s suit are “meritless.”

“Their complaint is about revenue, not race, and plaintiffs’[Allen] groundless allegations ignore both McDonald’s legitimate business reasons for not investing more on their channels” Lynch stated

 “..the company’s long-standing business relationships with many other diverse-owned partners,”  she added

The case is reportedly set for trial in May 2023.