NEW YORK (Business Insider) — Within the span of two days, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump filed two lawsuits against two very popular chefs.
The separate suits allege the chefs — Geoffrey Zakarian (a judge on the show “Chopped”) and José Andrés — have illegally pulled out of agreements to build restaurants in the new Trump International Hotel, which is under construction in the historic Old Post Office building in Washington, DC.
The chefs have claimed, in separate statements, that they pulled out of their respective agreements with the hotel after hearing Trump’s racially charged remarks about Mexican and Hispanic immigrants.
Andrés was slated to open a Spanish restaurant in the new hotel complex, but has said in a statement that Trump’s remarks have made it “impossible” for that to happen, according to the Daily News.
“More than half of my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests. And, as a proud Spanish immigrant and recently naturalized American citizen myself, I believe that every human being deserves respect, regardless of immigration status,” Andrés told The Washington Post.
The suit filed in D.C. by Trump Old Post Office, LLC, the Trump subsidiary handling the hotel project, alleges that Andrés’ company, ThinkFoodGroup, is still on the hook for the lease it signed with the upcoming hotel. Trump’s son, Donald Jr., told The Washington Post that the lease was for 10 years and is worth $10 million. The suit also enumerates other unspecified damages, which could add up to a hefty sum.