These Reviews of a New Gay Bar Are Building a Horrible Picture of Racism
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A new gay bar in New York City received some troubling reviews online, and the accusations point to an alleged racist door policy.
Flickr/Adrian Scottow - flic.kr
A string of social media reviews of ReBar NYC accuse the staff of discriminating against minority patrons by telling them the club has reached capacity, and unfairly enforcing the dress code.
A Facebook review by Ken Immadebymattel Waller claims that security told minority patrons that the club had reached capacity, while continuing to admit white club goers. He said that after being told the club was at capacity outside, he found that the bar had plenty of room and mostly white patrons inside.
"My boyfriend had a friend that was working the door and he allowed three of us in the bar," he wrote. "To our surprise, the club was nowhere near capacity. It was full of Caucasian patrons and maybe five African-Americans."
Facebook/Ken Immadebymattel Waller - facebook.com
A user, who wrote that he was a military veteran, also posted that he was denied entry to the club because it was supposedly at capacity.
"We were told that you guys wre at full capacity only to find out that you [were] at full 'black capacity,'" reads the post. "So myself and the group of guys are boycotting your new bar."
Facebook/Rebar NYC - facebook.com
A review by user Gunna Blaque alleges that club capacity is only met when black men are trying to get into the club, and the rebranding of the location as ReBar NYC was a "step into the past." ReBar is in the same location of a previous gay bar called G Lounge.
Facebook/Rebar NYC - facebook.com
Another review by Facebook user Jerome Brooks Jr. said that the door staff made the black patrons take their hats off but let the white customers keep theirs on.
"Why did I have [to] remove my hat if all the white people have on hats?" he asked in the post.
Facebook/Rebar NYC - facebook.com
However, other reviews about ReBar were positive.
Facebook/Rebar NYC - facebook.com
Facebook/Rebar NYC - facebook.com
ATTN: reached out to ReBar but did not hear back by the time of publication. However, after the backlash, the website Edugation.com said that ReBar initially told told the media outlet that the management had no statement.
"We have no statement. The situation is not real... We're not going to give it credence at all..."
However on Monday, ReBar posted a statement on its Facebook page to address the issue, saying that making patrons feel unwelcome was not their intention.
Facebook/Rebar NYC - facebook.com
ATTN: previously wrote about a club in London that allegedly denied entry to black football players from the New Orleans Saints because they were "too urban." Running back Mark Ingram tweeted the story out to his followers.
The club Cirque Le Soir said that they were denied entry because they were an "all male entourage," not because of their race. Ingram maintained that he was denied entry because of discrimination.
"Stereotyping and discrimination are real in our world," Ingram wrote.
