Four Tops Singer Sues Hospital, Says Staff Thought He Was Mentally Ill

Alexander Morris, the lead singer of the iconic Motown group the Four Tops, has filed a lawsuit against Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Michigan. Morris, who joined the group in 2018, alleges that the hospital staff racially discriminated against him and acted negligently during his visit in April 2023.

Morris, 53, was taken to the hospital with chest pain and difficulty breathing. When he informed the staff of his membership in the Four Tops, they allegedly dismissed his claim as delusional and ordered a psychological evaluation. The lawsuit states that a security guard was instructed to put Morris in restraints and he was taken off oxygen to undergo the psychiatric evaluation.

The lawsuit further alleges that when Morris offered to show his identification card, a white security guard told him to 'sit his Black ass down.' The nursing staff allegedly did not intervene to stop the racial discrimination and mistreatment.

Morris was eventually able to convince the staff of his identity by showing a video of him performing at a recent Grammy Awards event. The restraints were removed after about 90 minutes and he was placed back on oxygen. Following the ordeal, the hospital offered Morris a $25 gift card to a supermarket as an apology, which he refused.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, seeks more than $75,000 in damages. In response to the lawsuit, Ascension, the nonprofit health system that oversees the hospital, stated that it does not condone racial discrimination of any kind and declined to comment further on the pending litigation.