Airbnb has removed a host from its website after a viral video exposed the woman using the word ‘monkey’ to address a group of black guests.
On Saturday, vacation plans for Meshach Cisero and four of his friends went left, when they were kicked out of an Airbnb in Manhattan’s Upper East Side by a seemingly uninviting host.
According to Cisero, who took to social media to share a video of his account of the situation, things escalated over a conversation about how many guests could be accommodated on the property.
Apparently, the host was “uncomfortable” with allowing more than four guests on the property, which was listed as a two bedroom apartment. When Cisero, who had booked the trip asked about including the couch in the sleeping arrangements, the woman, who has since been identified as ‘Kate,’ responded with racist remarks.
“Which monkey is going to sleep on the couch,” she can be heard asking on the now viral video.
Cisero and his friends claim they were eventually kicked out of the NYC Airbnb at two in the morning after the woman expressed that she “felt threatened.”
Airbnb has since released an official statement in response to the video, condemning the behavior of the host and promoting their nondiscrimination policy.
“The language used in this video is unacceptable and has no place in the Airbnb community,” the statement said.
“We have a strict nondiscrimination policy, which we are enforcing to remove the host from our platform. We are supporting Mr. Cisero and his friends in getting them a new place to stay through our Open Doors policy. We’re thankful to them for bringing this to our attention so we could take action.”
Through the Open Doors policy, Airbnb has set out to accommodate and relocate guests who have reported discrimination from hosts. The company has also issued an apology to Cisero.
https://twitter.com/deelew06/status/1134808117940764677?s=21
Discover more from Baller Alert
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Ok people, we’ve dragged these racists through the mud enough. Some Google research shows that the racists are actually a happy-looking couple who just had a newborn daughter in the past month. I know enough to dox them but after seeing their photos I just can’t do it. They’ve been punished with public shaming and removal from Airbnb (still on VRBO…), which I think is enough to fit the crime. Let’s let them live in peace and let them sing “Five Little Monkeys Jumping on the Bed” and such to their daughter without fear of violent retribution.