When the pandemic started, Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont closed to hotel guests. All its facilities closed down except to residents.
But that won’t stop Jay Z and Beyonce. They’re going to have their Oscars after party at Bar Marmont, which is also closed and has been for the last two years.
Their party will feature Black Hollywood’s top actors and rappers. It seems they haven’t read the Hollywood Reporter story from September 2020 that claimed “Employees portray the hotel as an institution defined by racial prejudice.”
So it’s a an odd choice for Jay Z and Beyonce.
From the article: “The leadership operates in a perpetual state of racism and unconscious bias,” says Rosemary West, a white sommelier and manager who worked at the restaurant for six years until she, too, was laid off. “The hotel has been allowed to dismiss BIPOC concerns for years as there is no HR department. Fear of retaliation was an absolute concern at the property. Many qualified personnel were passed over for promotions to be filled by white personnel.”
I’m surprised, I always loved Chateau Marmont. But a) it’s closed and b) this has never been resolved.
Also from the article:
“There were times when we’d have a Black couple who was trying to have dinner and we had room to accommodate them,” [a staffer] says. “We would call upstairs, we’d say, ‘an African American couple,’ they’d ask if they were celebrities, and if not, they’d say, ‘We can put them in the dining room,’ which is secluded and where newcomers are seated. The main spot to dine is the garden area, so people seated [inside] felt isolated. Oftentimes they’d go, be disappointed, and then we’d offer them Bar Marmont or we’d say, ‘Come by on Sunday or Monday,’ which are our less busy nights.” He adds, “Black people weren’t taken care of as much as white people.”
