Melody Morales, a one-time Hooters girl, is suing New York City’s Hawaiian Tropic Zone for not hiring her as a bikini-wearing waitress.
Melody Morales vs. Hawaiian Tropic Zone
Melody Morales — who is Latina — says the manager at the Times Square Hawaiian Tropic Zone told her she “[didn’t] speak white” and was “ghetto,” the New York Daily News reports . Morales, 21, claims the manager went as far as to say: “I am not going to ruin my business with your Latin accent.” She says she was told she had a “speech problem.”
Morales alleges she is more than qualified for the position.
“Not to brag, but I look good in a bikini,” she told the Daily News .
The Hawaiian Tropic Zone has called the suit “without merit.”
The restaurant is also facing a separate lawsuit from four former female employees who say they suffered sexual harassment on the job.
