Four Tops singer Alexander Morris is suing a Michigan hospital and two of its employees after he was assumed to be mentally ill because he told them he was a member of the famed Motown group.
Morris filed a racial discrimination suit Monday in federal court concerning his treatment on April 7, 2023, at Ascencion Macomb-Oakland Hospital, in the Detroit suburb of Warren.
Morris, then 62, had gone to the emergency room because he experienced chest pain and shortness of breath while visiting a daughter in Southfield. While he was being checked in, he told a nurse and a guard that he had security concerns — that he had in the past been stalked because he is a well-known performer, the lawsuit says.
They “wrongfully assumed he was mentally ill” and, instead of giving him medical treatment, the ER staff put him in a “restraining jacket” and ordered a psychological evaluation, the suit says.
He had been restrained for 90 minutes when his wife arrived at the hospital and they were finally able to convince the nurse — by means of a video showing him performing — that his statements were not delusional.
The straitjacket was then removed, and Morris was administered oxygen and admitted to the hospital for treatment. “As an apology,” he was offered a $25 supermarket gift card, which he declined, the suit said.
The lawsuit contends that Morris, who is Black, was misdiagnosed and mistreated because of his race. It seeks a jury trial on his demand for compensatory and punitive damages.
In response to the suit, the hospital said: “We remain committed to honoring human dignity and acting with integrity and compassion for all persons and the community. We do not condone racial discrimination of any kind. We will not comment on pending litigation.”
Morris has been a member of the Four Tops since 2019. The group was founded in the 1950s; its sole surviving original member, Duke Fakir, still performs at age 88. Its hits include “I Can’t Help Myself,” “It’s the Same Old Song” and “Ain’t No Woman.”