Women Claim They Were Denied Entry Into Hollywood Bar for Being Too ‘Curvy’
A Hollywood club is under fire after allegedly denying entry to two patrons due to their size.
Two women took to Instagram to share that they were denied entry to The Highlight Room in L.A., despite being part of a group of friends who were let in ahead of them.
Alexa Jay says she got invited to The Highlight Room with some friends for a party. While there, she ran into friend and model Ella Halikas.
Jay claims that after she and her friends got to the front of the line, the bouncer let her friends in before he "put the rope down" in front of her, looked her up and down and told her, "Not tonight."
Jay was confused about why she wasn't let in and tried to explain to the bouncer that she was with the group of girls who had just entered. One again he told her, "Not tonight."
That's when Halikas tried to talk to the bouncer. She was also denied entry.
On Instagram, the two women explained they are "tired" of not speaking up and that this has happened to them on multiple occasions, as well as happened to their "curvy" friends.
Halikas wrote in the Instagram caption:
Speaking up for all of those who may not have a voice or a social media following. Enough is enough. This has happened WAY too many times before, and to many of my curve/plus size friends as well. This experience shouldn’t be normalized. We should be able to exist in a thicker body and still enjoy a night out in LA with our friends, regardless of our size. I'm tired of being quiet about this discrimination and allowing it to keep happening to my friends and I.
Warning: Video contains graphic language.
In a follow-up video, the two women noted the experience was "dehumanizing" and that they were left feeling embarrassed by the situation.
"These people were looking at us like we were scum of the earth. Nobody cared," Jay said.
Warning: Video contains graphic language.
The Tao Group, owners of The Highlight Room, spoke out after the incident.
"We are aware of Ella and Alexa’s experience. The doorman on this particular evening worked for a third-party promotion company and we’ve removed this individual from the door effective immediately," the company told KTLA in a statement.
"We have made several attempts to resolve the issue directly with Ella and Alexa and even scheduled a meeting within days to address their experience which they unfortunately canceled. Our company does not tolerate discrimination of any kind. We are always appreciative of feedback on our operations and continue to work on how to improve our guest experience," the statement continued.