Black Comedian Accuses Hotel Of Racial Profiling For Asking If He Was Staying There

Comedian and 90s sitcom actor Mark Curry posted a video to social media over the weekend that has since gone viral, showing him being asked by employees to verify that he was a guest in a Colorado Springs hotel. 

In the lengthy Instagram video, the 61-year-old actor accuses hotel staff of racially profiling him. He recorded two alleged hotel employees following him around the lobby where he was drinking a cup of coffee. Curry refused to show the two men his room key or confirm that he was a hotel guest. He also declined to provide his name or room number to the front desk attendant when asked.

“If you’re black and you’re in Colorado Springs, you can’t be in the lobby,” Curry says during the 26-minute video. “Wow! This is crazy, isn’t it?”

The comedian was staying at the Mining Exchange (A Wyndham Grand Hotel & Spa) at the time of the alleged incident.

Curry recorded the two men following him around and narrated the whole time. “I would like to call the police on this guy for following me. I don’t know who he is,” Curry told the front desk attendant. She identified the two men as hotel staff.

“A black man can’t go nowhere in America,” Curry fumed later while filming in his hotel room. 

“Black man and a hotel lobby it’s impossible that he has a room here,” he captioned the video. “No, I have a suite! He walks up to me with no badge on. I don’t know who this man is.” He then implored followers to call the hotel manager and complain.

In a statement, the hotel said that it was “committed to providing a safe and inclusive space for all guests and employees.” 

“We deeply regret this incident and have reached out to Mr. Curry to offer not only our sincere apologies but a full refund of his stay and an invitation to return, at no cost, anytime in the future,” the statement said, per Entertainment Weekly.

Hotel management also said they were “using this opportunity to revisit training with our staff, helping to ensure all interactions are reflective of our company values.”

Followers on social media had mixed reactions, with some accusing the hotel staff of blatant racist behavior and others saying Curry should have identified himself as a guest.

“You good my dude??? I’ve called the number a bunch of times can’t get thru!!!!” comedian D.L. Hughley wrote in the comments.

“Shameful! Absolutely disgusting! Love you [M]ark! No one deserves this!” actress Raven Symone agreed.

Curry’s co-star Holly Robinson Peete also chimed in, tweeting: “Sending love out to my costar and friend … just finding out about this awful profiling harassment he was subjected to in Colorado Springs. I hope the Hotel has apologized to him at least. UNACCEPTABLE.” 

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