T.I. Calls for Houston’s Restaurant Chain to Close After Security Guard Injures Three Actresses
T.I. continues his hefty boycott against Houston's Restaurant chain in Atlanta this week, as he spoke out Monday (May 21) against an incident that involved a security guard allegedly dragging a female customer out of the venue's restroom.
According to 11alive.com, the three actresses, who have all starred in American Idol, Straight Outta Compton and other titles, claim they went into the 2166 Peachtree Rd. restaurant location after 10 p.m. on May 13 to use the bathroom, which is after their business hours. While the women, whose names are Brittany Marie Lucio, Asia'h Sharrell Epperson and Erica Walker, claim they were given permission to use the restroom facilities, the security guard, who is a police officer working at the restaurant for his second job, claims he was asked to escort them out. The guard claims that the women ignored his calls for them to get out of the bathroom and leave the restaurant, which led to an altercation between the two parties.
The security guard allegedly grabbed Lucio by the wrist, to encourage her and her friends to leave. After resisting, she claims she was dragged outside by the guard, which led to her forcefully being held down, which the guard claims was to "detain" her and her friends before authorities arrived.
Footage from the incident appears to show the one woman being forcefully held down and pushed into a bush outside of the restaurant, where another at the officer to let go of her. While her friend films the aggressive interaction, she threatens to call the police on the security guard for his forceful behavior.
T.I. reposted videos from the incident on Instagram, as well as the injuries that one of the actresses obtained, and issued a response to the security guard. Not only did he demand that the Houston's chain be closed down, but he also told the security guard to "come do me like that."
"I need you to do me, homes," he states. "Come do me like that. Come drag me through the restaurant just like that."
The "Warzone" rapper also expresses that he's no longer about talking things out and wants to be about the action. He even makes reference to Martin Luther King Jr. in his response.
If you recall, T.I. has a history of tension with Houston's, as he publicly called for the boycott of the restaurant after hearing of different cases of discrimination. He also participated in protests against the chain, which led to him eventually assisting the company with diversity training to help "meet the needs of the community" in March.
Watch the footage from the incident and T.I.'s response in the videos below.
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