Virginia hotel clerk fired for calling black patron ‘monkey’

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A white hotel clerk in Virginia has been fired after he was caught on video calling a black customer a monkey.

The Washington Post reports the video shows the clerk at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson in Newport News telling Irby Fogleman to “get off my property” and saying Fogleman is “rude.” As the clerk turns away, he can be heard muttering a curse word and saying “monkey.” The clerk’s name has not been released.

The confrontation happened Friday. The hotel’s general manager, Lisa Little, says the employee was fired Monday. Fogleman says he and his family were at the hotel to see his mother, who was visiting. He says he had asked the clerk to for a new room because his mother’s room smelled like smoke.

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Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com