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Hank's Olde Irish pub has amassed significant traction on social media after an alleged racist incident went viral online. In the clip, a customer claimed that the venue’s bouncer refused to let a Black person enter the bar without being accompanied by a Caucasian person.
Since the video went viral online, netizens have slammed Hank's Olde Irish pub for its prejudicial regulations and also praised the friend who defended the Black person.
In the video clip, which has since gone viral, the customer, whose name is alleged to be Logan, defended his friend Danca. The latter claimed that he was denied entry from the Cape Town pub due to his race. Logan can be seen accusing the owner of the establishment of being racist. He also revealed that the bouncer told the Black person:
“You can’t come in here without a white person. If you come in here and know what you like, you steal, you guys cause trouble.”
Through the video, it was also alleged that it was in Hank's Olde Irish pub policy to not allow entry for Black people without the company of a Caucasian person.
Twitter user @Natenoged also shared a video of the owner of Hank's Olde Irish pub announcing that he was going to terminate the bouncer’s employment. Logan was unsurprisingly upset with the owner’s claim and signaled the owner to stop blaming the bouncer.
Twitter user @ethan348 went on to share a video of Logan and other unidentified members getting physically assaulted by the owner and the employees.
As many took to Twitter to discuss the matter, @MumfordAndPlums shared a screenshot of the reviews of Hank's Olde Irish pub. In the same, several Black patrons rated the pub with one star. They also attested to the accusations. One customer wrote online:
“This establishment is racist and discriminatory towards black people. They do not allow entry without white company and the bouncers make sure you know that. They claim you are there to “cause trouble” as “our kind” are known for that. Wouldn’t recommend at all.”
Netizens react to incident at Hank's Olde Irish pub
Internet users were enraged after watching the video. Many expressed anger towards Hank's Old Irish pub and went on to applaud Logan for defending his friends. A few tweets read:
Hank's Old Irish pub releases statement
The organization released a statement following the occurrence and claimed that the staff were not instructed to disallow customers' entry based on their race or gender in their 30 years of service. They said:
“We as owners have never discriminated, nor will we ever instruct our staff to discriminate on any basis whatsoever, on the basis of gender, sexual orientation or race.”
Hank's Old Irish pub also announced that they will be conducting an “internal disciplinary process” about the accusations that have been raised. It has also been revealed that a criminal investigation has been launched following the event. They added in their statement:
“We want to place on record that we are extremely concerned for the well-being and safety of the staff involved, therefore we will not be commenting any further while we conduct an internal disciplinary process about these allegations and the police conduct their criminal investigation.”
SABC News also reported that a case of assault was opened with law enforcement against Logan for making racist accusations in the video.
