Giles Terera has accused a London bar of refusing entry to him and a group of eight other actors because they were black.
The Hamilton actor tweeted on Nov. 29 that his group was racially profiled and denied entry into the Ain’t Nothin’ But Blues Bar in central London. Saying the incident left him and his party “devastated, confused and upset,” Terera noted the bar then allowed 10 white patrons to enter.
1. I just took a group of 8 Black actors who i’m directing in a play about American blues musicians to Aint Nothin But The Blues bar in soho. We were racially profiled and refused entry as 10 white punters were allowed in past us unchecked. WTF @AintNothinBut1 @standardnews RT pic.twitter.com/Ll150lCMi0
— Giles Terera (@GilesTerera) November 29, 2019
“I just took a group of 8 Black actors who i’m directing in a play about American blues musicians to Aint Nothin But The Blues bar in soho. We were racially profiled and refused entry as 10 white punters were allowed in past us unchecked. WTF,” Terera tweeted.
“This group of talented, and hard working actors was left devastated, confused and upset while the manager said ‘I dont care who you are or what you are.’ That this happens anywhere is a fucking disgrace, the fact it happens at venue which also exploits Blues music is sick,” he added in his Twitter thread.
The bar responded to Terera’s claims in a Facebook post, denying anyone was refused entry because of their race.
“It is a shame people can just put these things up without having the facts correct. No one was refused entry. They were id’d inside the Bar and it was found some of the group did not have id. Therefore they could not be served.”
The statement continued, “It is a shame they then have to try and use the ‘race’ card to intimidate the staff. Just because the next group happened to be white, they were a different age group, so were served. We now have an unfair reputation which we cannot properly respond to. We have regular customers, and staff, who are black. It makes no difference to us what colour people are.”
Following Terera’s posts, other actors have shared their support for him and disappointment with the bar.
The Wire actor Clarke Peters commented on Terera’s Twitter thread, writing “Now those actors know what the blues are about!!!!! That establishment should experience some blues too. Don’t fret. What goes around, comes around. To quote Donny Hathaway ‘Hang on to the world as it spins around…’ ‘One day we’ll all be free.’ One Love One Family.”
Nathalie Emmanuel, who played Missandei in Game of Thrones, also commented on Twitter that the incident was “so infuriating and unacceptable.”
This article originally appeared on The Hollywood Reporter.