A Hampton Inn employee in North Carolina was fired from her job after she called police about a black woman and her two children who had been staying at the hotel and were enjoying time in the pool.
The woman’s dismissal came after the video of her confrontation with the family, shot by Anita Williams-Wright, went viral over the weekend.
The nearly 10-minute video shows the mother and her two children in the hotel pool in Williamston, North Carolina.
Throughout the length of the video, Williams-Wright shares that he had been on the phone with his mother while her children were swimming, when the employee came and asked if she had a room.
The woman’s firing came after the video of her confrontation with the family, shot by Anita Williams-Wright, went viral over the weekend.
Williams-Wright explains to two officers from the Williamston Police Department that the employee is discriminating against her, noting that the cops were ‘harassing’ her because they didn’t even come to ask her what happened.
When asked to prove she is a guest, Williams-Wright shows her room key and suggests that she prove the key works.
But once officers ask for the mother’s name, she immediately refuses.
“I have a room here,” he declares. ‘I don’t need to give my name. I did not break the law. I know the law.
Throughout the length of the video, Williams-Wright shares that he had been on the phone with his mother while her children were swimming, when the employee arrived and asked if she had a room.
Williams-Wright explains to two officers from the Williamston Police Department that the employee is discriminating against her, noting that the police officers were “harassing” her because they didn’t even come to ask her what happened.
The officers then handle the Williams-Wright plates, so she’s fine.
“I’m here on business with my kids in the pool,” the mother shares to both officers and people watching her video online.
“There were two white people sitting there and she said nothing to them,” Williams-Wright told officers, and the employee listened in the background, explaining that she had searched the other two guests.
When asked to prove she is a guest, Williams-Wright shows her room key and suggests that she prove the key works.
Williams-Wright soon explains that the employee had a reason to ask the mother and her children why they were in the pool.
The furious mother said, “She said to me, ‘Oh, because there are always people like you who use the pool without authorization.’
She adds: “Who are people like me?”
He then directs his criticism at the officers, who said they never asked him “one word” other than if he had a hotel room.
Williams-Wright tells one of the officers that she plans to call internal affairs about him, prompting the police to start teasing her and telling him to call the chief of police.
“If I get a call, I’ll handle it as I see fit,” boasts the officer.
When the mother calls the officer “racist,” he quickly dismisses the notion.
“His actions don’t prove that,” says the mother. “You can say what you want with our mouth, but your actions don’t prove what you just said.”
Williams-Wright tells officers they are “degrading” her in front of her children.
Williams-Wright tells officers they are “degrading” her in front of her children
He heads to his car before returning to the hotel with his children.
But before entering, the employee tries to testify that her manager told her that Williams-Wright had to share her information.
The mother enters the hotel and refuses to speak to the employee, telling the woman that her “children are already stressed.”
‘I know I saw your shirt. I saw him leave earlier, ” says the employee about Williams-Wright’s son, who comes out of the pool without his shirt on.
Williams-Wright states that this proves that the employee was actually close when they were at the hotel before, noting that the woman had smoked a cigarette at the time.
She enters the hotel and refuses to speak to the employee, telling the woman that her “children are already stressed.”
The video has been viewed just under a million times since it was shared across all platforms.
It has elicited a response from the hotel, who announced that the employee had been fired from work.
‘Hampton by Hilton has zero tolerance for racism or discrimination of any kind. On Saturday, we were alerted to an online video of a guest incident at one of our franchise properties, ‘Shruti Gandhi Buckley, Global Director of Hampton by Hilton, said in a statement announcing the employee’s firing.
‘We have apologized directly to the guest and her family for their experience, and we will work with them and the hotel to do this well. We remain in contact with hotel property about follow-up actions and to ensure that, in future, their employees reflect the best value of our brand and are welcoming to everyone. ‘
The video prompted a response from the hotel, who announced that the employee had been fired from work.
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