Fantasia accuses Airbnb host of racial profiling after she and her family were asked to leave the rental
“American Idol” star Fantasia is in the headlines this week for more than just her co-starring role in the reboot of the iconic The Color Purple film. Fantasia Barrino took to social media on Sunday after the owner of an Airbnb took her and her family to task for partying it up at his rental. Upset, the singer / actress pushed back, saying that she and her family were victims of racial profiling.
Fantasia, starring as the character Celie in the 2023 remake of The Color Purple made the social media rounds, posting:
“My stomach is so uneasy this morning as I’m riding back to my home in the cold and rain. I don’t say much when people do me wrong, but I can’t stay quiet on how my family and I were just treated from a host with (Airbnb) trying to kick my kids and I out at 12:00 midnight.”
USA Today reported that the singer also claimed that her Airbnb host, “accused us of having a party with loud noises outdoors because they saw balloons being dropped off and a game truck with no generator in the early part of the day.”
Fantasia defended her stance, saying that her Airbnb host never specified that she couldn’t have guests visit her at the rental and that the number of people at her site matched exactly with the number of guests in her reservation.
“They never said we weren’t allowed to have any company over!!”
“It’s evident from the sayings on the wall, to the outdoor fire pit/jacuzzi and a well-equipped game room in the garage/poker table that people host parties and/or gatherings here on the lake often as there were weights with balloon ribbon left in the garage from a previous party at the house,” she posted
Fantasia concluded her post with “It’s evident to me this was racial profiling and the treatment we received was due to the color of our skin. I wanted my son to enjoy his friends (10-12) year old and make him feel special as I have been traveling for the last 35+ days promoting a movie I starred in. This time, I dare not stay quiet.”
Fantasia also shared a series of pictures of kids being kids that she posted to her Instagram account and an additional post, saying in part, “… Being abruptly asked to vacate a house (which proved to not be a Home) on the first night while a diverse group of technologically & robotically Inclined group of kids (one is a pianist) were winding down to sleep was unthinkable …”
Hopefully “the powers that be” at Airbnb are trying to work things out with the “American Idol” alum as they posted a reply to her tweet saying that Airbnb “does not condone discrimination in any way.” Their reply, shared by Today, also asked her to “please send us a DM with the email address connected to your booking, so our team can follow up.”
No where in any of her posts did Fantasia share the identity of her Airbnb host. For more on the story, see the video below.
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(Fantasia cover photo, Image credit: Twitter)
Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today
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