Controversy Over Virat Kohli’s Restaurant Chain One8 Commune, Faces Backlash; Here's Why

One8 Commune, a restaurant chain founded by Virat Kohli, attracted a lot of criticism after its Zomato description stated, "Stags not allowed." Following suit, the LGBTQIA+ advocacy group 'Yes, We Exist' accused the restaurant chain of discrimination and demanded that it make the "required modifications as soon as possible.”

Updated
VIRAT-KOHLI VIRAT-KOHLI-Restaurant-Chain-One8 VIRAT-KOHLI-Restaurant-One8

After Indian player Virat Kohli was involved in a controversy over the admittance of 'gay' persons into his restaurant 'One8 commune,' netizens said it was 'quite shameful.' The star cricketer has a restaurant franchise with locations in Pune, Delhi, and Kolkata. "Stags are not allowed," their Zomato listings state. This sparked outrage among netizens, who accused Kohli of discrimination. 


Also Read: ‘Chinese, Momo & Chow Mein’: Raghav Juyal Accused Of Being 'Racist' Over Introduction Of Assam Contestant


On social media, he was chastised and told that his behaviour was wrong. Following the criticism, the LGBTQIA+ activity group 'Yes, We Exist' demanded that the restaurant chain make the 'necessary changes as soon as possible.’


Also Read:Birthday Special: Know the real man behind Aditya Roy Kapoor - Shraddha Kapoor’ BREAK UP

The LGBTQIA+ activity group with the account ‘yesweexistindia’ wrote on Instagram, "@virat.kohli you are probably not aware of this, but your restaurant @one8.commune in Pune discriminates against LGBTQIA+ guests. The other branches too have a similar policy. This is unexpected and unacceptable. Hope you make necessary changes asap. @deepigoyal @zomato - either do a better job at sensitising restaurants or stop providing your platform to businesses that discriminate”.



They further added, "Often it’s the high-end restaurants that practise such discriminatory policies; the ones that you most likely get large sums of ad money from. This needs to end.”



Netizens expressed their displeasure with the case.







One Twitter user wrote, "Quite shameful how @imVkohli’s restaurants have been discriminating against LGBTQ+. Truly appalling that @deepigoyal allows such blatant bigotry to deliver food on @zomato. There must be no room for this nonsense." Another tweeted, "It sounds weird. How do they check and confirm you're "gay" or the allowed categories? Do they need bedroom pics, medical records? It sounds like someone picked on the word "stag" and called the restaurant and created a story. Weird.”


Virat Kohli's restaurant chain One8 Commune denied allegations:

One8 Commune, the restaurant chain, denied all of the charges, claiming that their policy had been misunderstood. It stated that 'stag entry' is prohibited, implying that 'individual boys are not permitted.' Taking to Instagram stories, the chain said,"At one8 Commune, we believe in welcoming all people irrespective of their gender and/or preferences with utmost respect and honour. As our name denotes, we have always been inclusive in serving all communities since our inception."




It further claimed, "Similar to industry wide practice and in conformity with government rules, we obviously have a prohibition of stag entry. policy (subject to necessary relaxation) in place so as to ensure a safe and enjoyable environment for our guests. That does not in any way. mean that our company policy provides any discriminatory entry rules for/against any particular community"

Trending