Sydney pub denies entry to woman with cerebral palsy
A PUB in Sydney’s inner west has admitted it “screwed up” when a young woman with cerebral palsy was denied entry because staff thought she was drunk.
NSW
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A SYDNEY pub has admitted it “screwed up” when a young woman with cerebral palsy was denied entry because staff thought she was drunk.
The woman’s 21st birthday celebrations were soured early on Sunday morning after security staff interpreted her condition as drunkenness and refused to believe otherwise.
The Marlborough Hotel said accusations the security staff laughed at her during the ordeal were “painful and appalling”.
“We screwed up,” the pub — in Newtown in Sydney’s inner west — posted to its Facebook page.
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“We apologise to the young lady, her friends and family. Unreservedly. We apologise for the humiliation and distress that we have caused.”
Dozens of people expressed surprise the security staff had confused the condition with intoxication.
“It’s a pretty high level of ignorance,” Sarah Henryson posted today.
The pub’s page contains several complaints about security staff, including allegations that they were hostile and aggressive and had accused people heading to a bus stop of trying to cut the queue into the venue.
“If feedback was actually acted upon and investigated you would not have the problems you are experiencing today,” one person posted.
Solotel bought the pub in 2017, adding it to a portfolio of 30 hospitality businesses in Sydney and Brisbane.
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The hotel said it has taken complaints about guards “on board” and changed security companies in the last few months.
It says its “entire team” will undertake intensive anti-discrimination training.