A white man accosted a black family at a high end California hotel on Monday and questioned whether they bathed when they tried to get in the pool.
A video posted on Wednesday by Carle Wheeler shows the woman, her mother and daughter in pure disbelief at the audacity of the man while at the Westin Hotel in Pasadena, California.
‘The man asked if me and my little girl had showered before getting into the pool because people carry diseases into the pools and he doesn’t want the health department to shut the pool down,’ Wheeler said in the video caption.
Carle Wheeler and her five-year-old daughter were swimming in a pool at the Westin Hotel in Pasadena, California, when they were asked by a white man if they had bathed
‘The man asked if me and my little girl had showered before getting into the pool because people carry diseases into the pools and he doesn’t want the health department to shut the pool down,’ Wheeler said in the video caption
‘Minutes later he approached us again on the opposite end of the pool under the pretense that he worked for the health department.’
The clip picks up after Wheeler first calls out the man and her mother and other family members have come to remove her five-year-old daughter
‘You had no right to do what you did,’ the Texas resident’s mother told the hotel staff in the video that has just under 1.5million views.
The man retorted: ‘I simply asked them if they showered and I am sorry.’
In the Wednesday video, Wheeler’s mother is seen speaking with manager and the man about his offensive behavior
Staff manager Ofelia Dolliver informs the group that the general manager is on his way to access the situation.
‘Because that’s part of the rules and I don’t know about you guys but I am tired of people peeing in pools and people consider baths,’ the man asserted.
He can be seen in a black and white striped polo with black jogging pants adorned with a yellow trim.
Wheeler responded: ‘But you didn’t ask anyone else, you didn’t ask anyone else. You only asked if we showered.’
Dolliver appears to be on the side of the family, calling the remarks ‘inappropriate’
‘You were the only one in the pool,’ he claimed but the family points out that there were more people in the car.
He added: ‘Then so what, relax.’
Dolliver appears to be on the side of the family, calling the remarks ‘inappropriate.’
The man claims to have had apologized but when Wheeler’s mom tries to explain that it wasn’t his business, he stated that ‘it is everybody’s business.’
As the two continue arguing about how Wheeler and her family travel all the time, the man shouts that they should all Google about diseases.
Wheeler and her mom instruct their family to take the small girl back upstairs but the man takes it upon himself to taunt the child before she leaves the area.
‘Because it’s only a shower young lady, don’t worry,’ he said.
Soon the manager of the hotel, Carl Sprayberry, comes and instructs everyone to stop or they will call the police.
But when Wheeler and her mom tell the manager to call police, he appears to back off the assertion and lets the man walk away from the scene.
Wheeler and her mom instruct their family to take the small girl back upstairs but the man takes it upon himself to taunt the child before she leaves the area. ‘Because it’s only a shower young lady, don’t worry,’ he said
‘You don’t know who he is and you are letting him leave? What he did?’ said Wheeler’s mom.
The manager responded: ‘Please let me talk to you over here, because I don’t want to call the police. And if I do, it is going to be a big headache for everybody.’
The group continue in a back and forth as Sprayberry deems that the man is ‘a guest in the hotel’ before Wheeler’s mom checks him and informs him that they too are guest at the hotel.
The scene fades out as Sprayberry tells the family that since the man has left the pool, they should be able to enjoy the pool.
Soon the manager of the hotel, Carl Sprayberry, comes and instructs everyone to stop or they will call the police
Wheeler details that only after some of the white guest, who had been in the Jacuzzi, called the front desk did Sprayberry believe what had occurred.
He then informed the family that he would be looking at security footage to determine who the man was and remove him from the hotel.
The family left the hotel early on Monday, with Wheeler claiming that Dolliver apologized for the situation and admited that Sprayberry didn’t handle the situation appropriately.
‘It’s just sad that in 2018 we are still dealing with these issues and still having to teach our children things that people had to teach their children in the 50s and 60s. Nothing has changed,’ Wheeler said in a video detailing the effects of the event on her, her family and child.
‘It’s just sad that in 2018 we are still dealing with these issues and still having to teach our children things that people had to teach their children in the 50s and 60s. Nothing has changed,’ Wheeler said in a video detailing the effects of the event on her, her family and child
‘In light of these events that happened, we feel it is important to share that we do not condone comments or behavior directed to our pool guests,’ the hotel said in a statement
She added: ‘It’s sad that I had to explain to my beautiful little five year old brown skinned girl why in 2018 a white man would think it’s OK to ask a little girl and her mom if we showered our presumably dirty black skin before entering a swimming pool.’
The hotel released a statement, obtained by ABC 7, that said:
‘In light of these events that happened, we feel it is important to share that we do not condone comments or behavior directed to our pool guests. The safety and security of our guests is our top priority. We strive to maintain an environment where our guests feel welcome and are treated with equal respect and attention from our team.’
Since the police were not called to the scene, there wasn’t a police report filed.
