AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas man says he was assaulted and called an anti-gay slur by a hotel security employee during the South by Southwest event in Austin last week.
Bobby Beltran, 31, says the incident occurred March 15 after he and a his friends were asked to leave the W Hotel bar because they were too drunk, reports KVUE-TV.
Beltran said he and the bar bouncer exchanged heated words, and that’s when the hotel worker called him a gay slur.
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“He was walking behind me and said, ‘That’s right, fag,’ and continued to walk me out of the building,” Beltran said. “I turned to him and said ‘That’s not right, you can’t be doing that stuff.'”
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He says he dislocated two bones in his hand and possibly caused nerve damage to his thumb, and that he is still in excruciating pain. Beltran said he’s hired an attorney and said he plans to file a lawsuit against the hotel.
W Hotels said in a statement it is “deeply concerned” by the allegations and is conducting a thorough investigation.
“In no way will we allow behavior that involves physical or verbal assault by any guest or employee. The accusation that an associate used a slur is also disturbing and completely at odds with the culture and DNA of the W brand,” the chain told LGBTQ Nation.
KVUE-TV has more:
