“This was different. It stayed with me, it really affected me in a different way.”
A bouncer who was the victim of a racial tirade over the weekend has said that the incident affected him more than when someone pulled a knife on him.
Tristan Price was called a “black c***” by a customer after he refused her entry to a bar in Birmingham on Saturday evening, before she then spat at him. Footage of the scene went viral on social media.
Price has now said that the incident affected him more than when someone pulled a knife on him whilst he was working, saying that the racial attack “affected me more because it was so vicious.”
Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, the bouncer said: “I don’t want to bring trouble to her door but this behaviour needs to be called out. It is completely unacceptable.
“People have killed themselves because of the racial abuse they suffer, and we can’t be silent about it.
“I have had a knife pulled on me while at work, which was pretty shocking. But this was worse, it affected me more because it was so vicious.”
He explained that the knife incident went out of his head “more quickly to be honest – it felt easier to deal with, the adrenaline kicked in, it was dealt with and then forgotten.”
The 26-year-old continued: “This was different. It stayed with me, it really affected me in a different way.
“I like to hope that people will not judge me or anyone by the colour of our skin… [it] is just not acceptable. I have had incidents but use of racist language has not been a regular occurrence.
“As a Black man, and as a doorman, I am conscious there is a stigma about both those things. I feel I have to carry myself calmly because I know actions might be magnified because of the colour of my skin.
“I make sure I carry myself correctly in these types of situation.”
The incident happened outside a Wetherspoons, and the chain has since announced that the customer is barred from its pubs for life.
A spokesman for Wetherspoons said: “We can confirm the incident took place outside the pub on Saturday night.
“The woman in question had been ejected for her behaviour. She spat her drink towards the member of door staff and also racially abused him.
“She also caused issues as she was leaving. This behaviour is completely unacceptable and the woman is barred for life.
“We will also be pursuing her for criminal damage and passing on the CCTV and bodycam footage to the police.”
Birmingham Police have said that a 24-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of racially abusing a pub doorman in Birmingham city centre on Saturday night.
She’s also accused of racially abusing another man who was stood near the pub entrance and earlier damaging furniture inside.