A man is suing the Ritz-Carlton in downtown Los Angeles after he says homophobic abuse at the hands of a hotel pool employee caused his blood pressure to skyrocket and his kidneys to flare up.
The alleged incident happened in July 2017. Angel De Los Santos says he and his boyfriend were minding their own business while relaxing by the pool when an employee approached to say âyou donât belong hereâ and questioned how they could afford a room at the luxury hotel.
At a press conference this week, De Los Santos said: âShe said âyou cannot be doing thatâ here. Weâre not doing any sex, kissing, just talking closer like a normal gay couple.â
De Los Santos says the employee also insulted their clothing and accused them of entering the hotel illegally. When they went to the hotel manager, they claim he âturned a blind eye to the mistreatment.â
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
De Los Santos is now suing the hotel for discrimination, saying the employeesâ behavior left him feeling humiliated and aggravated his kidneys.
NBC Los Angeles reports:
The civil suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court alleges discriminatory violations by the Ritz-Carlton of the Unruh Civil Rights Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence in the hiring and supervision of its staff members. The lawsuit claims the humiliating experience exacerbated the pre-existing medical conditions of Angel De Los Santos, which includes the need for weekly dialysis for kidney failure, and high blood pressure.
The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company is a subsidiary of Marriott International, which has a long history of being LGBTQ-friendly.
In 2010, the company launched ONE Marriott to promote diversity in business and inclusivity among its team members and business partners.
In 2014, the company announced its ongoing #LoveTravels program, promising that at their hotels âthere is no room for inequality. We believe that every guest, whoever they are, wherever they go, should feel comfortable and welcome the moment they walk through our doors.â
And in 2016, Marriott was named a âBest Place to Work for LGBT Equality,â after earning a perfect score on the HRCâs 2016 Corporate Equality Index.
De Los Santosâ lawyer credits the #MeToo movement for giving his client the courage to speak out, saying he hopes to stop any kind of harassment from happening anywhere else.
Neither the Ritz-Carlton nor the Marriott have commented on the lawsuit.
minatoguy
There seems to be something missing from this story. I’ve been to the Ritz Carlton in downtown LA several times and the staff are generally quite docile and try to stay out of the guests way. I’ve been asked to show a room key when using the pool area as is the case with many other hotels like this. I’ve also seen people confronted who didn’t belong at the hotel and the staff wasn’t demeaning or rude. I also hardly believe that the hotel manager would ignore such accusations, especially from paying guests. There is something more to this story.
Vince
Except she won’t come out and say what exactly happened. Just something racist. Then the hotel gave their standard apology we’re sorry that you feel offended or whatever. Pretty much a big to-do about nothing.
SPDuffy
Your logic is, well, not really logic at all. All you’re saying is: I’ve been to the same place and I saw nothing of the sort. You’re surely correct that the staff is “generally quite docile,” but this one gay man is swearing to you that on this one day this one nasty woman was anything but docile. He attests in this lawsuit that he was a paying customer who was humiliated and publicly shamed because he is gay. Like ANY lawsuit, this is just his side of the story – for now. But your testimony about how you personally have never seen anything like this in the “several” times you’ve been to this hotel – and that you “hardly believe” the manager would ignore such a complaint – is, well, irrelevant. Of COURSE there’s more to the story. When a judge or a jury weighs in, or when the hotel responds, we will learn more.
Kangol
SNL cast member and movie actress Leslie Jones also allegedly experienced racist treatment at this hotel right around the same time as Mr. De los Santos. I’m wondering whether, if it happened, the same employees might have been involved in the mistreatment of Mr. De los Santos.
@minatoguy, very good point, but I wonder, are you a person of color? I ask because according to the linked video Mr. de los Santos is a brown-skinned Latino and Leslie Jones is a dark-skinned African American woman, and thus more visibly minority citizens. I’m not saying it’s the case but it might account for the difference in treatment you and they experienced.
PinkoOfTheGange
Would be interesting to see the employment records during this time frame.
Lacuevaman
something aint right about this story.
if ms. thing gets that upset by someone being an azzhole to her, how the hell does she drive in that town without self-combusting??
Vince
I live in LA. If incidents like this caused me health problems I’d be dead by now.
PinkoOfTheGange
If someone stays at the Ritz, there are some deep pockets.
Depp pockets insulate the pocket holder from petty crap that most people deal with day to day,
And go a long way to never knowing this kind of treatment.
Especially being insulted by the help.
Not saying this happened just there is some plausibility to the seemingly (to mere mortals đ dramatic reaction.
Vince
Please. He’s obviously throwing in the kidney problems for a big pay day. These kind of businesses thrive on good PR. Usually they’ll side with the customers. As the other commenter said. We’re missing part of the story here.
AndThenTheresMax
I’ve been to several Ritz Carlton hotels and the staff have always been quite lovely. I have a hard time believing this.
KevInSD
The entire tale sounds like BS. “Gee, we were just sitting and talking and for no reason, this hotel employee for no apparent reason starts insulting us and accusing us of not being guests. And the management backed the employee, even though that goes against every incentive that a luxury hotel has to retain guests. But it totally happened and now my kidneys don’t work!”
Patsy Stoned 75
Somewhere in there, is the real story.