The rapper was denied entry to the hotel in a moment documented on video.
Rapper Meek Mill has said he plans to sue the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas after hotel security asked him to leave during an encounter last week.
The rapper claims that the he was denied entrance because of his race. In videos posted on his Twitter and Instagram, he is visibly upset during an exchange with hotel security.
"I can confirm that Joe Tacopina [Meek’s lawyer] plans to file a lawsuit this week on Meek’s behalf," the rapper's rep, Didier Morais, said in a statement to USA Today. The lawsuit will cite racial discrimination and defamation, TMZ reported.
In the video shared by Meek Mill, a member of the hotel’s staff tells the rapper and his friends, "We are private property, at this time, with the information we have, we're refusing to do business with you, we have the right to do that.”
The company, however, denies the incident had to do with race and said it was a capacity issue inside the hotel’s Marquee Dayclub. There was no mention of this in the video of the rapper’s interaction with security, however.
"The recent situation regarding Meek Mill related to a matter of security, not race, and any reports citing otherwise are false," the statement read. "We pride ourselves on providing an inclusive environment, with zero tolerance for discrimination. Under different circumstances, Meek Mill would be welcomed to the resort, but not at the compromise of his personal safety and the safety of our guests."
Hotel staff noted that if the rapper stayed on the premises, he would be arrested for trespassing.
“Cosmopolitan hotel/casino going to extreme racist levels to keep too many black entertainers and black people .... they said they gone lock me up..,” Meek wrote on Instagram of the incident. “I’m like for what I’ve been once to a party with jayz ..... Some of these casinos have a bunch of [tactics] to keep the level of blacks down .... but love to take our money!!!!”
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