Famous Black Artist Accuses Chelsea Hotel Of Racial Profiling: Report

CHELSEA, NY — An acclaimed Black artist is accusing a Chelsea hotel of racial profiling after employees barged into his room and said he was homeless, according to a recently filed complaint and a report by Gothamist.

Kahlil Robert Irving, who has had his work displayed at the New York Museum of Art and the Whitney Museum of Art, filed a complaint with New York's Human Rights Division about his stay at the High Line Hotel in January of this year.

Irving says he was asleep in his room at the hotel at 180 10th Ave., when two white employees burst into his room and yelled that he needed to leave the hotel and accused him of "being a homeless person who broke into the room," according to the complaint and Gothamist.

Irving was eventually able to convince the employees he had booked the room after showing the online reservation, but the employees didn't apologize, reported Gothamist.

The owner of the High Line Hotel, MCR Hotels, has not returned multiple publications' requests for comment.

Irving is now seeking acknowledgment of the wrongful conduct, discipline for the hotel employees, better training for the hotel's staff, and an unspecified monetary amount, the artist's lawyer told Gothamist.

You can read the full story on the Gothamist website.