HOUSTON — The Post Oak Hotel is facing a second lawsuit after a woman claimed she was discriminated against when she was asked to cover up while inside the Bloom and Bee restaurant.
The lawsuit claims the restaurant host came up behind the plaintiff, Blessing Nwosu, and put a shawl on her shoulders. That host apparently said Nwosu had to wear it if her shoulders were showing.
On Saturday, Nwosu spoke outside the hotel about the experience.
"Everybody was looking, I feel like I was being made a spectacle and it was embarrassing," she said.
Nwosu's attorney also sent KHOU 11 photos of her wearing the dress. She said that there were other people dining in the restaurant wearing spaghetti straps thinner than hers.
Her attorney, Randall Kallinen, is also representing another man suing the hotel for discrimination.
The Post Oak Hotel responded by calling the lawsuit frivolous and released a statement:
“The Post Oak attracts hotel patrons from all over the world and is one of the most diverse properties in Houston both in employees and in its customer base.
“The plaintiff entered one of the hotel’s restaurants for lunch and approached the hostess stand. The hostess noticed on her own that plaintiff was clearly overexposed in her dress and discreetly and respectfully offered her a shawl for coverage. The hostess is a minority and denies any discriminating nature towards the plaintiff and simply wanted plaintiff to cover up.
“This is nothing more than a frivolous lawsuit filed by an opportunistic lawyer looking for 15 minutes of fame and a pot of gold. It's a lot cheaper these days to use the media for free publicity in lieu of paying for billboards or television advertising.”