'The Four Tops' singer claims 'racist' hospital put him in straightjacket

Sky Palma
April 27, 2023


The lead singer of the iconic Motown music group "The Four Tops" is accusing a Detroit hospital of racism after he says he was put in a straightjacket after he revealed to staff who he is, The Daily Beast reported.

Alexander Morris says hospital staff didn't take his identity seriously. “They thought I was delusional,” Morris said. “I believe that it was initiated by racism.”

Morris was taken by ambulance to Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital after he had chest pains on April 7. When he told staff who he was, he says they did not believe him and refused to see his proof of identity.

“They racially profiled [Morris] and thought he was lying,” attorney Maurice Davis said. “They thought he was mentally ill instead of a successful Black man and they placed him in a straitjacket.”

Morris said it "doesn't matter if I'm successful or not, because I'm Black. Automatically I'm discarded. Automatically I'm worthless.”

“The head of security told him to sit his Black ass down,” Davis said. “They wouldn’t let him leave. …[Morris] said, ‘OK, I’ll seek care elsewhere;’ they refused and said he’s not going anywhere.”

According to reports, Morris was restrained for about an hour.

“He was treated like a mental patient instead of the successful Black man that he is,” Davis said.

Once his wife arrived at the hospital, Morris was able to prove his identity. The hospital responded with an apology in the form of a $25 gift card to a supermarket. He plans to sue Ascension Hospital for racial profiling and discrimination, the report said.