Fez-wearing Tesco employee loses discrimination case over Tommy Cooper jokes
Fez-wearing councillor Kester Bay has lost his case against supermarket giant Tesco for racial and religious discrimination after the judge said it has no chance of succeeding
A fez-wearing Tesco worker sued the supermarket giant for race discrimination after colleagues likened him to comedy legend Tommy Cooper.
Kester Charlese Bey sued Tesco over the teasing, with staff comparing him to the clumsy 6ft 4in magician and comedian famed for his fez and “just like that” catchphrase. However, Bey’s discrimination case was thrown out by an employment judge, who ruled it had no chance of succeeding.
Bey, an independent councillor from Reading, quit his shop worker job in May 2023 after more than two years on the shop-floor.
He told a preliminary employment tribunal hearing that comparing him to Cooper because of his headgear was both racial and religious harassment because of his “Moorish” background.
A “Moorish” background refers the group of Muslim people of North African origin and is characterised by distinctive styles of art and design.
Bey, who calls himself a “grand sheikh” on social media, also told the hearing that he was frustrated at a lack of training. Employment Judge Paul Housego said: “He describes himself as Moorish, and always wears a fez. He says this is connected with both race and his religion.
“He says that it was harassment to describe him as looking like Tommy Cooper (a comedian and magician from the 1960s who always wore one).”
However, Judge Housego said that the documents Bey provided did not disclose any arguable claim.
He added: “Mr Bey could not suggest any reason why this was connected with race or religion, and so the claim of race discrimination and religion or belief discrimination has no reasonable prospect of success.
“It is also out of time, and there is nothing in what Mr Bey said that could lead to a conclusion that it was just and equitable to extend time.
“Before a claim is struck out, the judge must try to find out what it is. I have done my very best to do so, but could get no further than this.”
A fez is a cylindrical hat, typically made of red felt and adorned with a black tassel on top, historically, linked with the Ottoman Empire.
Tommy Cooper, of South Wales, found fame with his cracking one-liners and magic tricks, and was known for the phrase “Just like that”.
He died aged 63 in 1984 after a heart attack performing on live TV in front of 12 million viewers.
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