Cirque le Soir, a London nightclub, has found itself at the centre of a social media storm after NFL player Mark Ingram tweeted that he and three of his New Orleans Saints team mates were denied entry to the venue for looking "too urban".
Is this what 6 big "too urban" guys look like?! @CirqueLeSoir @TheVonnBell7 @SterlingMoore @OhGi_3Dawg3 @burtleyc… https://t.co/RRQte8lP5L
In a statement released on Twitter this evening, Cirque Le Soir denied there was anything malicious in its turning away of Ingram and his teammates. They also said that admitting an all-male group goes against its policy.
"We proudly celebrate diversity, not only as part of our shows, but as part of who we are," the statement said. "We would not dismiss anyone as 'too urban' and we would not turn anyone away on the basis of their ethnicity, sexuality or any other characteristic – other than those expressed in our door policy."
An official statement :-
A spokesperson for City Hall said London mayor Sadiq Khan has asked his night czar, Amy Lamé, to look into the case. They also urged anyone who has witnessed or experienced discrimination in London to contact the Metropolitan police.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, Lamé said London is open to people from all backgrounds. "We will not tolerate discriminating behaviour anywhere in the capital," she said.
She added: "The NFL is hugely popular in London and we’re excited to have the Saints playing at Wembley later this year."
The incident comes just a few weeks after BuzzFeed News revealed that Lamé was asked to raise longstanding accusations of discrimination with DSTRKT nightclub in central London.
The decision came after a woman claimed in a series of tweets that she witnessed some people being turned away from the West End venue because of their skin colour. DSTRKT denies the accusations.
In a statement to BuzzFeed News, a spokesperson for DSTRKT said the venue has has always operated an “anti-racist door policy”. “The colour of someone’s skin has never been and never will be a factor for who is allowed in the venue,” the spokesperson said, adding: “We operate a zero-tolerance policy against any racist comments or behaviour in the venue by customers or staff.”
The same nightclub became the target of protesters in October 2015 after a group of young women claimed they were turned away from the venue after a promoter said two of them were too dark-skinned and too overweight to get in. DSTRKT’s management also denied the accusations and condemned “any type of racism or discrimination by customer or staff”.
At the time, Cindy, 24, whose last name we have withheld, wrote an open letter to the mayor. In it, she accused the government of failing to take action despite longstanding allegations that the club holds a racist door policy: “When will the humiliation end? When will DSTRKT London be called to justice?”
A spokesperson for City Hall told BuzzFeed News that racist behaviour would not be tolerated anywhere in the capital.