Black millionaire says bar let white people in but not him
Lamar Berko, CEO of LB Jewellery, said a door attendant blocked the group from entering 100 Wardour Street claiming there were "too many men" among them – but they watched as he "waved" multiple white people through the doors.
A Black millionaire has accused a popular London bar of denying him and his friends entry but allowing white patrons.
According to The Independent, celebrity jeweler Lamar Berko, 30, and eight Black friends tried to enter 100 Wardour Street in Soho, West End, last week but were turned away and given conflicting reasons as to why.
Berko said a door attendant blocked the group from entering the restaurant, claiming there were “too many men” among them – but they watched as he “waved” multiple white people through the doors.
“In my field, I’m used to dealing with racism,” Berko said, according to The Independent. “In this country, it’s always indirect and never direct. For example, I’ve been stopped by the police so many times for no reason other than the car I drive.”
Berko said he questioned the door attendant about why he denied the group entry but allowed others. He said they were initially informed there were too many males and subsequently told the place was packed –despite the bar being nowhere near capacity.
Berko stated that when he told the employee he felt racially profiled, he was told, “I don’t judge by race, just by the person.”
Berko, CEO of LB Jewellery, has reportedly worked with celebrities including David Beckham, Stefflon Don, Burna Boy, Wizkid, Joey Essex and Callum Hudson-Odoi. He said he felt forced to explain his profession and even Googled his name to show the door attendant.
The jeweler reportedly offered to purchase tables for £10,000, or $12,202 USD, but the staff member still rejected the group.
Ben Cavila, 33, who was among the group, said he’d gone through this before where someone turned him away at the door of a Central London event, so he wasn’t surprised.
Berko posted about his negative experience on Snapchat, igniting criticism on 100 Wardour Street’s Instagram page. The restaurant later posted photographs of Black women on their stories, a move Berko found to be “such a mockery.”
“I want them to understand that what they’ve done is mad,” he added, The Independent reported. “I am speaking out because they’re not going to make me feel like I’m crazy. The only difference between my friends and I, and everyone else who was let in was our ethnicity.”
100 Wardour Street didn’t immediately respond to requests for a comment.
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