Virat Kohli has been accused of discriminating against the LGBT community over entry into his restaurants. The Indian branch of the LGBT rights group ‘Yes, we exist’ has claimed that the cricketer’s chain of restaurants, One8 Commune, does not allow ‘Stag entry’.
It means that One8 Commune does not allow single men, or a group of men, to enter the restaurants. ‘Yes, we exist’ said, “We called the Pune branch, they confirmed that entry is allowed only for cisgender heterosexual couples or groups of cisgender women; gay couples or a group of gay men not allowed; trans women are allowed subject to their clothing. Delhi branch did not answer. Kolkata said stags are allowed, although their Zomato booking page says otherwise.”
It added, “Discrimination against LGBTQIA+ guests is common at such fancy restaurants, bars and clubs in India, and Virat Kohli is no exception.” The group also said that they have contacted Zomato to enquire whether they have ‘sensitised’ Virat Kohli, which the food delivery platform had earlier assured it will do to ensure “inclusive entry policies”.
‘Yes, we exist’ told Virat Kohli, “You are probably not aware of this, but your restaurant One8 Commune in Pune discriminates against LGBTQIA+ guests. The other branches too have a similar policy. This is unexpected and unacceptable. Hope you make necessary changes asap.”
They told Zomato, “Either do a better job at sensitising restaurants or stop providing your platform to businesses that discriminate. Often it’s the high-end restaurants that practise such discriminatory policies; the ones that you most likely get large sums of ad money from. This needs to end.”
The policy at the One8 Commune restaurant chain is not explicitly against homosexual couples as their policies allow entry for lesbian women. They entry is barred for single men as well as gay men.
Virat Kohli has also received criticism recently for going ‘Woke’ but it appears the Woke camp is not pleased with the cricketer either.
