Nightclub protest over rejecting 'dark and overweight' women

Lin (right) with her friends Zalika, Reisha and Tasha

A protest has taken place outside a London nightclub after a group of women claim two of them were turned away because they were considered "too dark" and "overweight".

It follows a social media campaign from four friends who say they were stopped from entering DSTRKT on Saturday night.

Lin Mei, 29, from London, claims she was told two of her group were not welcome.

Newsbeat has contacted the club several times for a statement or response.

On its website DSTRKT says it has a long list of celebrity visitors, including Kim Kardashian, Jay Z and Rihanna.

It calls itself a "playground renowned across the globe".

Reisha and Tasha claim they weren't allowed into the club

Lin says she was invited to the club online by a promoter. She is mixed race, while her friends have a darker skin tone.

After arriving at the venue, she claims two of her friends, Reisha and Tasha, were asked to stand across the road so the manager could see them.

Lin says they were then told they were "overweight" and "too dark".

"I was disgusted at the behaviour," she told Newsbeat.

See a picture of the protests outside the club.

In text conversations seen by Newsbeat, the promoter talks, before the incident, about girls with darker skin needing to be "hot". But he says it's not to do with racism.

"There needs to be equality," Zalika Miller, Lin's friend, told Newsbeat.

"You need to let everybody in your club. I shouldn't not be allowed into a club because of the way I look."

The 26-year-old says other women have since been sharing their experiences of getting into clubs.

"A lot of girls have been messaging me saying, 'The same thing has happened to me.'"

Model and actress Karrueche Tran is in London at the moment

Chris Brown's ex-girlfriend, model and actress Karrueche Tran, attended an event at DSTRKT on the night of the protests.

"It's unfortunate to hear about something like that, especially something that I'm part of," she told Newsbeat. "I'm half African-American too. I have god-sisters and family who have darker skin as well.

"I don't support any sort of discrimination. I love people for who they are."

Her event went ahead despite the protest and some people on social media calling for a boycott.

Part-time club promoter Brooke Norton, 19, posted a video on Instagram claiming she had a similar experience while working at DSTRKT on Friday night.

She told Newsbeat: "I was told at the end of the night by my promotions manager not to necessarily bring black girls in future, bring white girls, light skinned girls and Asian girls.

"I also got money taken off my pay that night because two of the black girls I was with weren't counted as guests."

Newsbeat did speak to someone identifying themselves as the general manager, who said the club doesn't turn away anyone based on race. There's no suggestion that it was the same manager who was on duty on Saturday.

Despite the social media campaign from Lin and her friends, DSTRKT's own account hasn't so far replied to anything that's been said.

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