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 In a statement on his website, Jay Z said he'd agreed to move
forward with next week's launch of his BNY SCC collection under the
condition that he helps lead the store's review of its policies.
"The easy position would have been to walk away and leave
policymaking to others hoping that someone addresses the problem,"
said Jay Z. "I will take this into my own hands with full power to
recommend, review and revise policies and guidelines moving forward.
I am choosing to take this head on."
He said 100 percent of sales from the collection of clothes,
accessories and jewelry will go toward his charitable foundation,
which supports educational opportunities for disadvantaged students,
and an additional 10 percent of all Barneys' sales during
Wednesday's launch day will also be donated.
Barneys New York said in a statement that it guaranteed raising a
minimum of $1 million Wednesday to be donated to the foundation.
"Barneys New York has zero tolerance for any form of
discrimination," the statement said. "As we have stated all along,
if we learn any procedures or practices are not consistent with our
zero-tolerance policy, we will immediately take corrective action
including terminating those employees responsible."
Last month, two black customers separately accused the luxury store
of racial profiling after they said they lawfully purchased
expensive items but were detained by police on suspicion of credit
card fraud.
Trayon Christian sued Barneys, saying he was accused of fraud after
using his debit card to buy a $349 Ferragamo belt in April. Kayla
Philips filed a notice of claim saying she would sue after she was
stopped by detectives outside the store when she bought a $2,500
Celine handbag in February.
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Rob Brown, an actor who appears on the HBO series "Treme," also
filed a lawsuit in October against Macy's, alleging he'd been
similarly detained and questioned after he was stopped for possible
credit card fraud while shopping at the department store. Brown is
black.
Macy's has said none of its employees were involved in Brown's
detention and questioning. On Friday, Barneys said its own
investigation has determined none of its employees were involved in
stopping Christian or Philips.
An investigation by the state attorney general's office is "ongoing
and active," a spokeswoman said Friday.
New York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly has said it is
standard practice for retailers to call police if they believe
crimes have been committed. The NYPD didn't immediately respond to a
message seeking comment Friday.
Jay Z's decision to not immediately bow out of his Barneys
collaboration when the racial profiling allegations surfaced drew a
firestorm of criticism on Twitter and an online petition that urged
the rap mogul to bow out.
[Associated
Press; JAKE PEARSON]
Copyright 2013 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
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