Beyoncé’s production company Parkwood Entertainment is facing a class action lawsuit, which claims the pop star’s official website discriminates against the visually impaired, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The lawsuit was filed by a blind Beyoncé fan, Mary Conner, who says the website violates the Americans With Disabilities Act (1990) due to its inaccessible interface, which denies visually impaired users equal access to its products and services.
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According to the lawsuit, Conner discovered the accessibility issues when attempting to purchase an item from Beyonce.com’s online store. The visually impaired often use screen-readers to navigate a website but apparently many photos on Beyonce.com are not coded with the required alt-text.
“There are many important pictures on beyonce.com that lack a text equivalent,” said Conner’s attorney. “As a result, Plaintiff and blind beyonce.com customers are unable to determine what is on the website, browse the website, or investigate and/or make purchases.”
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Beyonce.com features exclusive news, merchandise, music, videos, and links to purchase concert tickets — something else the suit claims Conner was restricted from accessing due to her lack of vision. The complaint also highlights the lack of accessible dropdown menus and navigation links.
Conner is seeking an injunction that would force Parkwood to redesign the site to make it accessible to blind and visually impaired users, as well as compensatory damages for any legally blind U.S. citizen who has “been subjected to unlawful discrimination.”
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Beyoncé founded Parkwood in 2010. The company is behind the singer’s last two visual albums, including her Grammy-winning record Lemonade.
