The lead singer of the Four Tops said a Detroit-area hospital restrained him and ordered a psychological exam after refusing to believe that he was part of the Motown music group.
Alexander Morris, who is Black, filed a lawsuit Monday against Ascension Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, alleging racial discrimination and other misconduct during an April 2023 visit for chest pain and breathing problems.
Hospital staff “wrongfully assumed he was mentally ill when he revealed his identity as a celebrity figure,” the lawsuit says.
Morris is not an original member, but he joined the group in 2019.
The lawsuit says a nurse finally believed Morris was in the Four Tops and the psychological exam was canceled.
The hospital offered a $25 gift card as an apology, but Morris refused to accept it, the lawsuit says.
So nobody looks at him and says hey let me just Google this guy.
I just checked the Four Tops Wikipedia article, and the line that lists him as a current member of the group has a citation referencing a NY Times article from today about the same hospital incident/lawsuit filing, LOL.
It’s possible this occurred and their responses are part of the case.
Maybe they did and Google’s Shitty AI gave them the wrong answer.
The funniest part of this story is learning that American hospitals have gift cards. What a joke of a healthcare system.
And what the fuck is $25 going to buy you? I’ve seen their bills. You wouldn’t even get a Hello Kitty sticky plaster for that.
“Sir, we have a situation.”
“Open the gift card safe.”
“should we give him a $100 card?” “No no, that’s to much, he didn’t lose a limb or an organ, the $25 card should be just fine”
Why would the gift card be for the hospital? Could have been a prepaid credit card just as easily.
Madam? Madam, I need you to do 1 thing: Please drive to hospital and buy $1500 worth of gift cards, so we can make sure all the bad virus from your computer is cleaned, madam.
Ya know, I hadn’t even thought of that until I read your comment. Because there’s gift cards for damn near everything. But a ‘gift card’ for a hospital… That is weird.
The worst part is a $25 gift card wouldn’t even cover a lot of people’s co-pays.
It won’t even cover a band-aid with these vultures.
I can only imagine the gift card is meant to be used for things like the cafeteria and perhaps the gift shop.
Yeah. They really gotta get on those punch cards. 10 surgeries and the next one is free.
What a scam. Show me 10 surgeries on a person still alive. I worry that’s reeeeally rare.
Probably every single person with knee problems.
With a maximum out of pocket, the second surgery in a year is usually free. The hard part is paying off the first one.
So when my doctor’s office screwed up and made my appointments run hours late, they have given me local gas station gift cards ($10) so weird, but I didn’t say no.
When asked why he is suing the hospital, Morris replied, “Can’t Help Myself.”
Hospital staff said, “see you in court.” Morris responded, “Reach out. I’ll be there.”
Name a more iconic duo than realists and being wrong about reality
The hospital offered a $25 gift card as an apology
The cherry on top.
That’s such an insulting concession. I bet it’s only good for use in the hospital gift shop or cafeteria.
It’s true use is to use as a legal argument that you accepted restitution. Luckily, he wisely declined or his suit might have been dismissed on grounds that they’d made it right already.
Good for $25 off any elective procedure costing twenty thousand dollars or more!
Expired last week!!
The thing about using for damages, which is what I assume hell sue for, is that your payout is based on their value. And hospitals are “worth nothing” on paper. In the US.
So… He should probably take it.
I mean I’m kidding, he can probably afford a good lawyer and get something done here. But, you or me? Take that shit.
They were going to put him in a mental hospital and the best they can do to say sorry is a $25 gift card…
That feels like a $1 inheritance. Was the hospital trying to get the worst PR angle possible?
It is.
If he accepted it, he’d no longer have an argument with a strong foundation. He could still sue, but a lawyer could argue they already made it right.
Exactly the same logic as a 1$ inheritance, it shows that this was dealt with, so the law doesnt have to deal with it again.
The hospital offered a $25 gift card as an apology, but Morris refused to accept it, the lawsuit says.
Right. If he had, he’d have been screwed by the hospital later, which is why he didn’t.
They ordered an exam, but they cancelled it before it was given.
Their defense could be to describe what behavior the singer had besides stating he was one of the Four Tops that might give them concern about his mental health.
They cancelled the exam after figuring out that he actually was, so presumably it was a significant part of the decision.
They cancelled the exam after he had three seizures.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they charged him a cancelation fee.
This article is so confusing. How did he reveal his identity exactly? How did that even come up? Cuz the way it’s approached has a major effect on the response of the staff. Especially when you learn that he wasn’t really a member of the Four Tops he joined in 2019. They still have people joining them in 2019? Are they even still touring? Are any of the original members left? Is he really in the Four Tops or is it a Four Tops cover band?
my grandfathers 4 tops. sure theyve replaced members over the years…
You sound like you need a psychological exam. Please step into my padded office
Ooh that’s my kink. May I have a moment in your padded office too?
You get a $25 gift card to Joe’s Discount Espresso stand
The Tops of Theseus.
I agree that this article is short on information. It’s hard to get a read on what happened. I mean, it’s not uncommon to order psych evals in various circumstances. I don’t know what to think based simply on this article. With one exception–a $25 gift certificate?! WTF!?
They were trying to trick him into accepting an offer of compensation so they’d be able to point to it in court when they get sued.
Yikes! But I could totally see this scenario happening lol. Maybe he came off agitated, manicky (he’s in the hospital, maybe he’s panicking or upset or whatever). Then he says he’s famous too so the doctor was like oh ok, grandiose delusional. Check, check, and check. Assuming he doesn’t already have a psych history, I don’t see how they would’ve came to the mental illness conclusion if he was simply calmly saying who he was lol I mean that would’ve been really stupid
Then he says he’s famous too so the doctor was like oh ok, grandiose delusional.
I’m more convinced that they had no fucking clue who the Four Tops even were. It’s 2024 and this guy is all “you don’t know who I am!” and they’re like “you’re too fucking right we don’t” because what fucking nurse just out of medical school is listening to or even knows of the existence of the fucking Four Tops.
They probably thought he was just spouting geriatric fucking nonsense.
“I don’t know, something about four tops? He’s only wearing one top, no undershirt.”
Oh yep, you’re right about the dementia angle. And even if they were Four Tops fan… you just joined in 2019! Who’s gonna know??
Maybe the hospital could have had someone google his name first before they went all stupid on him.
That would be the logical thing to do, right? Right???
Who’s gonna know??
The object in everyone’s pocket that could tell them in seconds probably
Wait wait wait you want people to actually use the sum total of human knowledge they have in their pocket? What a nerd!
Now do all of Metallica’s bassists since Cliff Burton.
Now that my throwaway joke is out of the way, it’s interesting to me how much judgment and hate there is for those with mental health issues that people are positively angry that they might be confused for someone with (or maybe even actually have) mental health issues.
Devil’s Advocate incoming:
Let’s be real, the members of the Four Tops are fucking old. It could literally be fucking dementia. This guy could genuinely have mental health problems.
Why is he so scared of being admitted to a mental health facility? Because deep down everyone knows exactly how fucked up those facilities are and exactly how much agency they take away from you when you’re in one.
The reason the fear of getting put in one is so visceral is because everyone knows it becomes really difficult to get back out when you’re in an endless quest to prove your own sanity and everyone thinks you’re insane (and maybe you really are!). The reality is that the systems and how we handle mental illness need to change as well as the judgments of the people who need help. Like, maybe taking away all their personal agency isn’t the answer.
People won’t seek out help if the response is to sue over the very idea that maybe we might actually need help. He’s fucking ancient, he very well could be experiencing dementia, and that could have been an honest fucking mistake on the part of the hospital staff because he’s literally an old man exhibiting dementia symptoms but because of who he is instead we’re running with the story that his mind is a steel trap and never wavers? Fuck me, get out of here with that nonsense. Old people get old and their minds get frail, its totally fucking possible. (I can’t find his exact age, but his personal Facebook shows he’s got a full head of gray hair and miles of wrinkles. Black don’t crack so this guy is fucking old.)
No, it would be way healthier if people could be open to the possibility (especially in advanced old age!) that maybe, just maybe, they could be susceptible to mental health issues instead of freaking out and fucking suing people.
Accusing people who disagree with you of mental illness is fucked, and that’s what these doctors did. False beliefs, or beliefs the doctors think are false, aren’t a mental illness. Had an actual psychologist been in the room, they would have explained that a mental illness necessarily causes harm or distress to the patient. If someone believes he’s a famous singer, and there’s no other sign of trouble, then doctors have no business with the man except to solve the problem he came to have treated.
He’s fucking ancient
No, he’s not. He was born in 1971 making him 52 or 53 now (depending on his birthdate).
He joined the Four Tops in 2019.
My post is literally addressing the “it can’t happen to me” canard. People can and really do have mental health issues. It can literally happen to anyone. I understand he joined in 2019, I’ve been to his Facebook page. I appreciate you adding his birth year, because I was unable to find it.
I’m pointing out that angry responses to the idea that maybe you have a mental health issue speaks to how bad our current mental health services are, why they need change, and why we need to get rid of the stigma against mental illness.
Anyway, as you can see, Early Onset Dementia (along with so many other diseases, especially autoimmune) is on the rise in youth. Pretending it’s not a possibility at all and getting angry at the possibility because you view people with mental health issues as “lesser” somehow is a problem, because it can happen to anyone. Pretending it won’t and trying to strongman your way out of mental health issues literally does not work.
Also, as a black man, he historically has a reason to distrust American medical and pharmaceutical industries. I’m sure he’s likely aware of such gross examples as the Tuskegee Syphilis experiments. However, choosing not to trust medical science entirely is also a losing game, so we have to fix that trust in people by building better systems.
Once again, this speaks to a system that needs to be fixed, not one that needs to have people antagonizing others over the idea that maybe they need mental health help. The system for mental health help in the USA is currently broken and hurts people and takes away their human agency. It can help a lot of people, but it hurts and fails a lot of others. There’s a reason why people are scared of it.
I’m not saying anything is wrong with him, but I am saying his angry response to the idea that something might be speaks volumes about the issue.
“He’s fucking ancient, so he probably has dementia.”
“No, he’s actually middle-aged.”
“Ah, well, nevertheless…”
Not disputing what you’re saying about the horrors of the mental health system in this country, but learn to take the L.
He’ll have a hard time gaslighting if he doesn’t edit his post before doing it. Lol.
Maybe he has dementia?
I dont think their point changed from post-to-post, it seemed coherent to me. What do you mean by gaslighting here?
His initial argument was that the guy now suing was old as dirt, so it was understanding that they thought he may have dementia or a mental issue.
But he never bothered to read the article when he made that huge post. The patient wasn’t an original member. He joined in 2019 and was only like 52 years old.
At that point, in his next post, he started acting like that wasn’t his big argument.
That was probably the core of the problem right there… Medical professionals going “No way is this guy old enough to be in the Four Tops…” Without doing the due dilligence to realize they’ve been rotating members since 1997.
The fact that the original four members ran from 1953 to 1997 is fucking amazing! One of the original four is STILL in the group at 88.
That’s an awful lot of talk for someone who didn’t seem to read/comprehend the article.
“Morris is not an original member, but he joined the group in 2019.”
Just realized he got restrained. You’re not gonna get restrained just for a psych exam. If he got restrained, he was definitely doing something - getting hostile, threatening the staff maybe. It all depends on the documentation and these hospitals know how to protect themselves. He’s got no shot
Bullshit lol. You get restrained for talking back in any way.
I mean you can’t say that without at least providing your own anecdote.
I know american hospitals suck but they do not restrain everyone who objects to anything.
Something similar happened to this Finnish chainsaw juggler. He had just come back from performing at Kim Jong-Un’s birthday and had a stubborn headache that wouldn’t go away. Straight to the mental ward.
Article in Finnish, I’m sure Google translate does a decent job.
Jesus that’s a terrifying story.
I mean he did go to North Korea to please that dictator. Must have at least a little bit of brain damage.
I… I’m not gonna hold this one against them.
So wrong on so many levels
let me count the levels:
-
What was the relevance of him mentioning to hospital staff about being a celebrity in a singing group? Is it like people who run marathons can’t not tell everybody they ran a marathon? Is it like vegans who can’t not tell everybody they’re vegan?
-
He joined the singing group in 2019. That’s kinda like telling everyone you’re Elvis Presley even though you’re just an Elvis impersonator 50 years after he died.
-
And of course the obvious reasons this whole story was wrong, which everyone is already talking about. The fact that the hospital staff decided he was insane, then were proven wrong and tried to apologize with a $25 gift card.
-
I wasn’t there, so I don’t know how this went down, but the only reason why I can see this being brought up, is he went
“Don’t you know who I am?!? I’m Alexander Morris of the Four Tops! You better give me priority over these other non -famous shlubs or you’ll be known as the hospital who killed a Four Top!”
As someone who works in customer service, this scenario sounds totally plausible, and would explain why they would schedule a psychological exam.
Could be. Could also be that they made some smalltalk and someone asked what he was doing for a living …
Speculators will speculate.
I wonder how many crazy people they’ve had that also claimed to be a member of the Four Tops for this to happen.
“I used to be one of the Four Tops!”
“Sure you did Peter, now let’s get these sleeves tied nice and tight…”
Read the book Psychiatric Slavery by psychiatrist Thomas Szasz. Limitless Peace…
