Hawaiian Tropic Zone Ghetto Lawsuit Rages On

Lawyers for the recently-reopened Hawaiian Tropic Zone have failed to convince a judge that a discrimination lawsuit against the restaurant should be dismissed. Now it's up to a jury to decide whether management at the Times Square HTZ turned Melody Morales down for a job because her deportment was too ethnic. Morales filed the suit back in January after managers allegedly told her, "We will not hire you because you have a 'speech problem.' You have a Latin accent. You don't speak white. You are ghetto."

In June, HTZ's attorneys tried to persuade the judge that Morales wasn't Tropic Zone material because she was actually a prostitute, citing "very filthy" photos of herself she posted on Craigslist. It's unclear whether Morales was posting in the "Adult" erotic section of the website, but the judge ultimately found that argument irrelevant, and is sending the suit to trial.

Morales's lawyer is looking forward to calling the 22-year-old Morales to the stand, and tells the Daily News, "They're going to see that she speaks very well. And I intend to depose all of the waitresses who work there because I am interested to see how well they speak." Something tells us it won't take long to fill the jury on this one.

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By John Del Signore in News on September 23, 2009 12:30 PM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

You know.,s.,mmm ,.////...

(sorry, I was just wiping the lip liner off my eyes.)

ProcedureTurn

These hispanics...

Brado

What? She couldn't just go a few blocks north and apply at "Hoota's"?

barryap

Am I the only one who hears Rosie Perez's voice when I picture her talking?

Kojak

"... Lawsuit Rages On"

Judging by her pics, you can say the same thing about my boner.

militza

that is soo funny! I can't stop laughing!

longacre

Note the sides of her midsection in what must be the best Photoshop slimming job ever...not sure if the Daily News or her own MySpace is responsible for this: http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/09/23/amd_melody_morales_bikini.jpg

Clarice City

That slimming job is so cheap looking it could have been done in MS PAint.

longacre

Note the sides of her midsection in what must be the best Photoshop slimming job ever...not sure if the Daily News or her own MySpace is responsible for this: http://assets.nydailynews.com/img/2009/09/23/amd_melody_morales_bikini.jpg

felixthecat2

JDS??? WTH?? use a full picture of her funbags.

Rocknrope

How much DNA would you reckon has been splattered on those funbags?

Soggy

While it's true that restaurants can hire whoever they want, by saying "You don't speak white. You are ghetto." they left themselves wide open for a discrimination case. I don't know why they just didn't say "Sorry, we went with another girl." like any person with common sense would.

whitecastlerock

zzzzzzzz

Matt Joyce

What's wrong for firing a customer facing representative for not being able to speak english? I don't see the issue.

al oof

she speaks english. that is the issue.

snickerdoodle

Restaurants can hire whoever they want. If somebody doesn't fit the image they want to project, they don't get hired. Simple, find another job somewhere else.

al oof

that's not true from a legal standpoint. and you'd be hardpressed to explain how a woman with a 'latin' accent and a hot bod doesn't fit into the hawaiian tropic image.

blkiznewprez

the problem was the whole "you have a speech problem, you have a Latin accent, you're GHETTO" thing. they just should've told her she was too fat or her tits were too small. but now, homeslice may just have the constitution on her side. VIVA AMERICA!!!