A London nightclub has found itself at the centre of a social media storm after reportedly denying a group of girls entry to their club for being "too fat" and "too dark".
DSTRKT, often frequented by celebrities, allegedly turned the girls away after the doorman disappeared to "check them out on a video monitor" to decide if they could enter - before denying them entry, despite other women being allowed in.
Speaking to The Voice, actress and TV presenter Zalika Miller said she was turned away because her and her friends were not considered the right "calibre".
“Prior to us actually getting to the club, the (promoter) wanted pictures of the girls that my friend was going to bring,” she said*. *
“He basically said, if she was going to bring black girls then they’ve got to be of 'a certain calibre'. She sent him pictures of me and another girl that was coming and I guess he gave his approval.”
She added:
“The promoter went to the door girl and asked why she wasn’t letting us in and she just said, ‘I don’t think they’re good looking enough’” Miller added. She also claimed that one of the club's promoters said it was because they were “too dark” and “overweight”.
A campaign against the club has started since the story broke, with users tweeting the #doilookdstrkt hashtag and staging a peaceful protest outside the venue.
Today DSTRKT released a statement, saying its staff "abhor all forms of racial and sexual discrimination":
What DSTRKT does practice is a balanced environment.
Furthermore, Dstrkt stipulates that people will always be refused entry if the club is at the maximum capacity regulated by Westminster Council.
We take the recent situation extremely seriously and had an immediate internal investigation into the alleged incident.
The night in question of Saturday 26th September was a very busy night and the women who have made the complaint against the venue arrived without having made any prior reservation.
All our tables were booked and we had a full general admission guest list and on that basis alone they were not granted entry. Only people who had booked in advance were allowed entry.