Hotel Staffers Suspended After Comedian Mark Curry Alleges Racial Profiling

The Colorado Springs hotel employees who comedian Mark Curry accused of racial profiling have been suspended amid an internal investigation.On Tuesday (December 13), a spokesperson for The Mining Exchange in Colorado Springs, a franchise of Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, said the two employees seen in the video shared by Curry were suspended, per NBC News.

Curry said he was drinking coffee in the hotel’s lobby on Friday (December 9), when an employee asked the comedian if he was a guest and informed him that the lobby was private, according to the video posted to his Instagram.

Curry accused the employee of questioning him because his of race, which the staffer denied.

“If you’re Black and you’re in Colorado Springs, you can’t be in the lobby,” he said. “Wow! This is crazy, isn’t it?”

At one point during the video, Curry asked the staffer why he wasn’t questioning the white guests sitting in the lobby. The employee said they paid for drinks.

“Then you’re a patron of the hotel, which I asked you several times,” he told Curry.

Video shows two employees in front of Curry, with one standing with his hands crossed in front of him.

“So how long are you going to stay here, buddy?” Curry asked.

“Just when you answer my question, sir,” the employee responded.

Curry later said back: “And I told you, of course, I’m at the hotel. Yes.”

Hotel officials issued an initial statement on Monday (December 12), saying they “deeply regret this incident” and will “revisit training” with their staff.

“We are committed to providing a safe and inclusive space for all guests and employees,” the statement read. “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. As a respected community partner, we are also using this opportunity to revisit training with our staff, helping to ensure all interactions are reflective of our company values.”

Many social media users condemned the staff’s behavior, including Holly Robinson Peete, Curry’s former colleague from Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper.

“There was no reason for Mark to be singled out except for the fact that he’s a black man,” Peete tweeted. “Since when do you have to identify yourself sitting in the lobby drinking coffee.”

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