As promised, the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino has issued a public apology to Meek Mill. The Las Vegas hotel delivered a statement via Twitter on Friday (May 31), admitting the Philly-bred artist never had a prior altercation on their property as they originally claimed.
“We apologize to Meek Mill for how we handled the situation on Saturday, May 25, as we did not act in a respectful manner and were wrong,” the statement reads. “Meek Mill has not had any prior incident on our property.
“The Cosmopolitan has zero tolerance for discrimination and we pride ourselves on providing an inclusive environment. We look forward to welcoming Meek Mill back to the resort.”
Meek was barred from entering the Marquee Dayclub on Saturday (May 25). He called them out on social media and ultimately got his legal team involved.
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Attorney Joe Tacopina threatened to sue the Sin City hotel for what Meek viewed as racist behavior. Swae Lee, Yo Gotti, O.J. Simpson and Snoop Dogg are all said to have experienced similar treatment at the Cosmopolitan and other Vegas hotels.
Tacopina sent a letter to the Cosmopolitan, which was obtained by HipHopDX.
“Your hotel’s failure to provide a reason for singling our Mr. Williams [Meek Mill] is incredibly telling,” Tacopina wrote. in part. “In short, we have learned that the Cosmopolitan maintains a list of African American recoding artists who should be denied access for no other reason than their culture and skin color.
“Such course of conduct constitutes discrimination per se, in violation of state and federal law, and exposes you to significant monetary damages.”
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Evidently, Tacopina’s tactics worked.
[This article has been updated. The last version was published on May 30, 2019 and can be found below.]
The head honchos at the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas will reportedly apologize to Meek Mill.
TMZ says they have spoken to sources close to the situation who claim the hotel will issue a “significant public apology” after threatening the Philly-born rapper with arrest over Memorial Day weekend.
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Meek was attempting to enter the Marquee Dayclub at the Cosmopolitan for a DJ Mustard show on Saturday (May 25) when he was stopped by security. They proceeded to inform him he wasn’t allowed on the property but unable to give Meek a concrete answer as to why.
They later claimed it was because of a previous altercation Meek had at the hotel. Then, they circled back and said the Marquee was simply at capacity.
Meek’s attorney, Joe Tacopina, immediately called them out for their perceived racist behavior.
“The assertion that the Cosmopolitan denied Meek because of capacity concerns at Marquee Dayclub is outright false,” Tacopina said in a statement. “In the recorded video, Meek also inquired about getting a meal at one of the hotel’s restaurants, yet their security team continued to deny Meek.
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“[They] said he would be arrested for trespassing regardless of location in the premises. The Cosmopolitan’s conduct continues to be deplorable.”
Upon looking into the situation, Tacopina discovered Yo Gotti and other black celebrities were consistently barred from the Cosmopolitan and other Sin City hotels.
Snoop Dogg, Swae Lee and O.J. Simpson are reportedly just three of the notable names who have experienced similar treatment at the Cosmopolitan.
Meek and Tacopina were initially threatening the hotel with a lawsuit but will apparently settle for the public apology.
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[This article has been updated. The last version was published on May 28, 2019 and can be found below.]
Meek Mill and his attorney Joe Tacopina are planning to sue the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The Philly rapper was refused entry into the establishment on Saturday (May 25) for reasons he believes are rooted in racism.
In a statement to TMZ, the hotel explained they didn’t allow Meek into the Marquee Dayclub — where DJ Mustard was performing — because of an alleged altercation on their property, but then they shifted gears and said it was because they were at “capacity.”
But Tacopina quickly called foul on their explanation.
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“The assertion that the Cosmopolitan denied Meek because of capacity concerns at Marquee Dayclub is outright false,” he said. “In the recorded video, Meek also inquired about getting a meal at one of the hotel’s restaurants, yet their security team continued to deny Meek.
“[They] said he would be arrested for trespassing regardless of location in the premises. The Cosmopolitan’s conduct continues to be deplorable.”
Tacopina insists they will end up paying “heavy monetary damages.” He vows to bleed them dry for “lying and humiliating Meek” and says he will “take this place down because of what they did.”
Meek’s lawyer claims there’s a list of black rappers who are banned from other Sin City hotels. He says he’s already identified two other rappers — Yo Gotti and BlocBoy JB — who have made similar complaints against other Vegas hotels.
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[This article has been updated. The original version was published on May 25, 2019 and can be found below.]
Meek Mill was barred from entering the Cosmopolitan Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday afternoon (May 25). The Philly-bred rapper and two of his security guards arrived at the property around 3:30 p.m. local time when security stopped them.
When Meek confronted them about their reason behind the ban, the security officers accused him of “trespassing” and threatened to arrest him, yet they never explained why exactly he wasn’t allowed at the hotel. Meek quickly took to Twitter to blast the Cosmopolitan for their perceived racist behavior.
“If you come from our culture you should never step foot in the cosmopolitan hotel they just really racist as hell,” he wrote. “Something really has to be done in Las Vegas what they doing to black people!”
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He added, “They telling black rappers they are banned from properties without incident … they just told me I was trespassing and I will be arrested. I stepped in that hotel once at a jayz party without incident!”
The Championships mastermind shared video of the security team saying they are “refusing” to do business with him and that they “have a right” to do that.
“The cosmopolitan hotel …. and it’s a few other hotels that be doing this to black entertainers because they don’t want too many blacks on they property!” he captioned the clip. “Vegas notorious for this too its not just me!!!!” [apple_news_ad type=”any”]
In a letter obtained by HipHopDX, Meek’s attorney Joe Tacopina called out Anthony Pearl who works for the Cosmopolitan, threatening legal action if Meek doesn’t get an apology. Tacopina also reveals the hotel allegedly keeps a list of black entertainers who aren’t allowed on the property.
Mr. Pearl,
Please be advised the our firm represents performing artist Robert Williams, known professionally as Meek Mill. It has come to our attention that your hotel, through its security personnel, brazenly denied access to Mr. Williams without just cause. In fact, the incident of his exclusion was captured on a recording. And, evidenced thereby, despite inquiring as to the reason for his denied access, Mr. Williams was afforded no explanation whatsoever. Simply put, your security chief embarrassingly did not even know the reason for Mr. William’s denied entry.
Your hotel’s failure to provide a reason for singling our Mr. Williams is incredibly telling. In short, we have learned that the Cosmopolitan maintains a list of African American recoding artists who should be denied access for no other reason than their culture and skin color. Such course of conduct constitutes discrimination per se, in violation of state and federal law, and exposes you to significant monetary damages.
In light of the foregoing, we urge you to promptly issue an apology to Mr. Williams and grant him immediate access. In the event you fail to heed this one and only warning, we intend to pursue all legal recourse against you.
The 32-year-old ended his tirade with, “I needs lawyers ASAP y’all not gone treat me like I’m just a rapper and expect me to be quiet.”
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Meek was on site to see a DJ Mustard show. Cosmopolitan has yet to respond to Meek’s public outcry.
