A Black man has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against Magic Mountain LLC and Six Flags Entertainment Corp., alleging he was subjected to racial discrimination during his three years of work there and then fired in 2025 on false allegations of not cooperating with security guards.
Charles Winters’ Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit allegations include discrimination, retaliation, wrongful termination and defamation. Winters seeks at least $20 million in compensatory damages in addition to punitive damages in the complaint filed July 2.
A Magic Mountain representative said the Valencia theme park does not comment on pending litigation.
Winters was hired as a food service employee in November 2022 and worked primarily at Big Belly Burger. He was named employee of the month in August 2023. But throughout Winters’ employment, management subjected him to “repeated and consistent discrimination and/or harassment” based on his race, the suit alleges.
Park security guards repeatedly asked Winters for his employee identification even when he wore his uniform, a practice not imposed on non-Black workers, the suit states.
Often, Winters and other Black employees would be on their hands and knees cleaning the floor, refrigerators, counters and various other areas while white employees were given the less strenuous job of waiting at the cash register, according to the complaint.
During Winters’ time at Magic Mountain, the park hired and then quickly fired about 20 to 30 Black employees, but during the same period non-Black employees were turned over at a lesser rate, according to the suit, which further alleges that Winters and other Black employees were not invited to a December 2024 company Christmas party and were falsely told the event was cancelled.
Winters was suspended in June 2025 in retaliation for his complaints and fired the next month upon his return, the suit states. Management falsely told the plaintiff he was losing his job for failing to show his badge to security, the suit further states.
Winters has suffered both economic losses as well as emotional distress due to his termination, the suit states.