Celebrity chef José Andrés has fired back at a $10m lawsuit filed by Donald Trump, calling it “unsurprising and without merit”.
Andrés’ remarks are the latest shot in an ongoing row between the Spanish chef and the presidential candidate after Andrés backed out of a deal to open a flagship restaurant in a forthcoming Trump luxury hotel in Washington last month, citing Trump’s comments characterising Mexican immigrants as criminals.
Andrés, whose ThinkFoodGroup includes 18 restaurants, multiple cookbooks and TV shows, pointed to his own experience as an immigrant to the US to explain why he was putting an end to plans to build the restaurant.
“More than half of my team is Hispanic, as are many of our guests,” he said in a statement at the time. “And, as a proud Spanish immigrant and a recently naturalised American citizen myself, I believe that every human being deserves respect, regardless of immigration status.”
He was one of many high-profile partners who sought to sever ties with Trump in the wake of the comments.
On Friday, the Trump organisation formally responded to Andrés, filing a $10m breach-of-contract lawsuit in a federal court in Washington against ThinkFoodGroup and an affiliate company, Topo Atrio LLC. The amount cited is linked to damages that include lost rent and the cost of finding a new tenant to fill what is now an empty space in the centre of the planned 263-room hotel.
The lawsuit also argues that Trump’s stance on migrants should not have come as a surprise to Andrés. “Mr Andrés’ offence is curious in light of the fact that Mr Trump’s publicly shared views on immigration have remained consistent for many years, and Mr Trump’s willingness to frankly share his opinions is widely known,” it states.
Andrés replied to the legal challenge with a statement from ThinkFoodGroup that called the legal action “both unsurprising and without merit”.
Pointing to the comments by Trump, the statement said it was no longer viable to operate a high-end Spanish restaurant in the location and despite attempts to negotiate an amicable solution, the company was forced to terminate the lease.
“We had every intention of running a successful business that celebrates and welcomes people and cultures from around the world,” it added.
