Chloé Hayden calls out Harry Styles' concert staff for discrimination

'Flying its woke flag and ticking the disability box is where its values begin and end'

Chloe Hayden has hit back at Marvel Stadium after Harry Styles' Friday concert in Melbourne.

Actor and autism awareness advocate Chloé Hayden has spoken out after being deemed 'not welcome' in the sensory room at Marvel Stadium during Harry Styles' Melbourne show. 

Heartbreak High star Chloé Hayden has taken aim at Marvel Stadium workers after she was discriminated against at Harry Styles' Melbourne concert on Friday night.

The awarding winning actress, who is autistic, spoke out saying she was refused entry into the venue's sensory room  – a "quieter and more secure environment" for those with disabilities. As per The Age, it offers concertgoers access to headphones, fidget toys and more to make the users event experience a more enjoyable and safe one. 

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In a candid post on Instagram, Hayden said people with disabilities "shouldn’t be fearful of being abused, discriminated against and humiliated", but in this instance, it's exactly what she experienced.

“Mum and I went to look over it, to see where it was, how to access it, how to get there … as soon as we walked up, we were met with almost quite dismissive behaviour," she later told The Age.

“[The worker] looked over me and did a once-over, checked me out, and she told me, ‘oh, it’s not available’.

“That was a good hour-and-a-half before the concert started. My mum was with me and she kind of questioned: ‘Do you have to book for it?’ They said no, and definitely made out that I wasn’t welcome in that space.”

In Hayden's Instagram post describing the experience, she called out Marvel Stadium for their performative activism, saying "In venues that preach inclusion, that pride themselves on their accessibility, that giddily placed ‘Be like Harry, Treat People With Kindness’ across their billboards, that was praised this week for their sensory rooms, their disability inclusion; how goddamn disappointing that the same venue has proven that flying its woke flag and ticking the disability box is where its values begin and end."

"Laughing at folks in meltdown, not knowing where accessible bathrooms were, disabled lifts being broken, disabled seating being nothing but a raised plank of wood, fat shaming disabled people…I am goddamn tired."

Hey @marvelstadiumau reminder that you can not preach inclusivity and then not let me into the sensory room because you took one look at me and decided I don’t look autistic enough to access it lmao 💛

— 🌻 c h l o é h a y d e n 🌻 (@chloeshayden) February 24, 2023

The 25-year-old assured fans Harry wasn't to blame, but instead took aim at organisers, who were meant to be trained to work in harmony with ticket holders with disabilities. "I’m not going to let mass corporates who see our existence as profit ruin the fact that for 3 (almost) blissful hours I was breathing the same air as THE Harry Styles and stimming my pants off and ugly sobbing to Matilda and truly having the utter time of my life."

Hayden's supporters were quick to support the star, and others shared their own similar experiences from the night. 

One wrote, “I just tried to get one of the sensory packs too and they asked to see my diagnosis forms.”

Another said, “The staff member looked me up and down and simply said, ‘That’s not a real panic attack’”.

Hayden recently sat down with Body+Soul to talk about her autism, and shared what it's like navigating the entertainment industry, while heaping praise on Heartbreak High for helping her fulfil her acting dreams and giving her a platform to advocate for people with all disabilities.

"I speak very positively about being autistic, but I don’t have many positive things to say about the sensory thing. It really sucks. In fact, it was one of my biggest worries about acting," she said.

"This industry is probably the most sensory un-friendly workplace ever – lights everywhere, loud noises, people touching you all the time, but you still have to be on your A-game. I was really lucky everyone on Heartbreak took the time to ask how they could support me. I had noise-cancelling headphones on set and meetings with the costume designers to make sure outfits weren’t scratchy or going to cause me stress," said.

"A lot of autistic people act their entire lives to survive and ADHD brains are wired for creativity, so if we’re working with people that take our needs into consideration as just needs rather than a problem, then we’ll thrive here."

Originally published as Chloé Hayden calls out Harry Styles' concert staff for discrimination