A Colorado Springs hotel issued an apology after staff appeared to harass comedian Mark Curry in the lobby.
Curry shared a 26-minute clip on Instagram documenting himself at the Mining Exchange in Colorado Springs. The comedian was scheduled for a performance down the street from his hotel. However, within moments of sitting down, two staff members closely approached him with hostility. He explained that one individual, who identified as the head of security, asked if he was a guest at the hotel.
"If you're Black and you're in Colorado Springs, you can't be in the lobby," Mark Curry said. "Wow! This is crazy, isn't it?"
At that point, the other staff member accused the Mr. Cooper actor of using the "race card."
Later on, Curry revealed that the two men were following him as he tried to go to the bathroom. He then told the woman at the front desk that he'd like to contact the police. Afterward, Curry said the man that followed him didn't provide any sort of identification or a badge.
"I would like to call the police on this guy for following me. I don't know who he is," said Curry. At this point, the woman explained that the man was one of their engineers and tried to identify him "for safety."
"Black man and a Hotel Lobby it’s impossible that he has a room here. No, I have a suite !He walks up to me with no badge on. I don’t know who this man is. And asked to see my hotel key Wyndham racism.719-323-2000 call them pleaseJhon Crab head of security and head of maintenance at the same time," Curry captioned the Instagram post.
The clip quickly went viral, prompting a response from the hotel. The Mining Exchange rep said they're "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 company continued in their statement. They added they're also "using this opportunity to revisit training with our staff, helping to ensure all interactions are reflective of our company values."
