Black costumer on Blue Bloods sues ViacomCBS and her former supervisor accusing him of making racist comments about her invoking 'baby daddies' and 'du-rags'

A former costumer on the long-running CBS procedural Blue Bloods has filed a federal discrimination lawsuit, accusing her supervisor of making racist comments and humiliating her. 

Trenena 'Trina' Patterson, 44, brought the complaint against CBS' parent company, ViacomCBS, and Blue Bloods' costume designer, Michael Woll, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York in March. 

According to the 15-page filing, Patterson, who is black, was initially hired as a part-time costumer on Blue Bloods in August 2014, and was promoted to a full-time position four years later.

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Costumer Trenena 'Trina' Patterson, 44 (left), is suing ViacomCBS and Blue Bloods costume designer Michael Woll, 43 (right), claiming racial discrimination and retaliation

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Woll has worked on CBS' Blue Bloods since 2010, and in 2018 he was promoted to costume designer on the long-running procedural   

Around the same time, Woll, 43, was promoted from wardrobe supervisor to costume designer on the show, becoming Patterson's direct boss. 

That is when, according to Patterson's complaint, Woll, who is white and openly gay, began directing offensive comments invoking racial stereotypes about African-Americans at Patterson. 

The federal complaint, first reported by PageSix, cites multiple examples of Woll's alleged remarks targeting Patterson, including that she had 'wide hips' and a 'big butt.'

At one point, Woll allegedly asked Patterson if she had more than one 'baby daddy.'

The lawsuit claims that on 'countless occasions,' Woll referred to Patterson's headscarf as a 'du-rag,' and also talked in more general terms about how 'black people can't swim' and 'black people don't climb on ladders.'

Patterson later learned from a co-worker that around the time of her hiring, Woll was allegedly heard telling a co-worker, 'Why would you hire that little black girl? She looks like a hot ghetto mess,' according to the explosive complaint.

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Patterson's federal complaint alleges that Woll, who is white and openly gay, commented on her 'wide hips' and 'big butt,' invoking racial stereotypes 

The suit goes on to allege that Woll often yelled and berated Patterson in front of others, calling her an 'idiot,' 'lazy' and incompetent,' which on more than one occasion resulted in the woman leaving the set in tears.

When one time he saw Patterson crying, he allegedly told her, 'There’s not enough milk in my t***ies to feed you,' purportedly implying that she was acting like a baby.  

'Woll treated [Patterson] less well than her Caucasian male counterparts, who were not subjected to discriminatory comments,' the lawsuit reads.

Last August, Patterson complained to another supervisor about Woll's conduct, and also reached out to her professional union seeking to file a discrimination complaint.

Just two days later, Woll 'summarily demoted [Patterson] and simultaneously cut her days from 5 days per week to 1 day per week,' according to the complaint, citing unspecified 'performance issues.'

The lawsuit stresses that prior to that, Patterson had never been disciplined for her job performance and regularly worked up to 60 hours a week.

Patterson was ultimately fired from Blue Bloods in September.

The lawsuit alleges that she had been discriminated against based on her race, and then retaliated against and unlawfully terminated after complaining about her treatment.

Patterson is requesting a jury trial and is seeking unspecified damages and attorney's fees.

DailyMail.com reached out to ViacomCBS seeking a comment about the litigation and was awaiting a reply. 

Woll's IMBD page says that he has worked on Blue Bloods, starring Tom Selleck and Donny Wahlberg, since 2010. The show had just wrapped up its tenth season.  

Prior to that, he served as a wardrobe supervisor on Sacha Baron Cohen's raunchy 2012 comedy The Dictator and on the soap opera All My Children.