HOUSTON – Gaslamp, a Midtown-area bar, released a video on YouTube addressing allegations of racial discrimination.
Several customers have accused the bar of discriminating against minorities trying to enter. Gaslamp has denied the allegations.
On Friday, Gaslamp attorney Tim Sutherland appeared in a YouTube video to address the allegations that have been reported.
"We have been interviewed by and are cooperating with the media. We've done so since the beginning. That's because we have nothing to hide," Sutherland said.
He goes on to say the bar has a door policy that is "race blind" but admits that Gaslamp doesn't let just anyone enter the bar.
"We do not allow our customers to dictate the terms of who we let in and who we do not," Sutherland said.
"We are willing to hurt your feelings by telling you that you don't fit the dress code. We will tell you that you need some girls and that isn't bros night out because we don't want you creeping out the girls that we already have inside. We will tell you that you are too cheap for our nightclub if you don't want to pay a cover, because we know that if you won't pay a cover, you're probably not going to buy any drinks."
Sutherland said while they have rules and policies, they have too many exceptions, which is a problem.
Sutherland mentioned the most recent racial discrimination allegation by a customer.
"Brandon Ball was asked to pay a cover because he was in a group of guys with no girls and he wanted to go to the rooftop terrace, where we wanted to charge everyone cover."
Sutherland said they will be making changes so that they are more transparent about their policies.
"We are not going to let there be any confusion going forward."
Sutherland ended by saying, "Let's be civilized and let's handle this the right way."
Earlier this week, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said its deputies will not be providing security at Gaslamp after the allegations were made public, and the Houston Police Department also announced its officers would not be providing security.
Cover charges will be waived at Gaslamp until Oct. 31.
Sutherland told Channel 2 news in an interview these allegations of racism have cost Gaslamp $100,000 so far -- they have lost business because of these claims.
"This allegation came out of nowhere," he said. "It popped up on Facebook and went viral."
Sutherland said Gaslamp has policies in place, it enforces a strict dress code and charges $20 to get in, but he admits not everyone has to pay.
"A very pretty girl might get in for free," he said. "If you have been coming here for a year and a half and are on a first-name basis with the bouncer, you're not going to pay."
Gaslamp also has VIP status for some customers that allows them to get in without paying. But they never use race to determine who gets in and who doesn't, he said.
Brandon Ball disagrees. He and two of this friends, all of them attorneys, said they were told they had to pay the cover charge but saw a lot of other people getting in for free.
"We saw white people getting in for free," he said. "We watched them tell all types of minorities that it was $20. This was not just black people they were doing this to. This was Asian, Hispanics, it was a group of minorities."
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