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Las Vegas hotel apologizes to Meek Mill after rapper accuses them of discrimination

A video on a May 25 Instagram post by Mill shows security personnel at the hotel telling him he was not allowed inside and would be arrested for trespassing.
Image: Meek Mill
Meek Mill at the 40/40 Club in New York City on May 30, 2019.Shareif Ziyadat / Getty Images

The Cosmopolitan Hotel apologized to Meek Mill after the rapper accused the Las Vegas establishment of discriminating against him when they denied him entry and threatened to have him arrested if he stepped foot on their property.

"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 hotel said in a statement on Twitter on Friday. "Meek Mill has not had any prior incidents on our property."

Last weekend, the "Uptown Vibes" rapper, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, posted a video to his Instagram account showing security personnel at the hotel telling him he was not allowed inside and would be arrested for trespassing.

"How can you tell me I'll be locked up for trespassing?" Mill, who was seated in a vehicle, asks the two men in a video shared on May 25.

"We're a private property. At this time, with the information we have, we're refusing to do business with you," one of the men says in the video. "We have a right to do that."

In the video's caption, Mill accused the hotel of using "tactics" to keep black entertainers away.

"Some of these casinos have a bunch of tactics to keep the level of blacks down ... but love to take our money!!!!" he wrote. "This happens to a lot of black entertainers not just me either!! I felt crazy being put out by these white men for no reason!"

The incident led to some fellow musicians' calling out the hotel in support of Mill. Rapper 50 Cent in a tweet threatened to boycott the Cosmopolitan and T.I. said the hotel needed to offer an explanation.

In a statement on Tuesday, Cosmopolitan Hotel said Mill was denied entry because of a security matter and not because of race. According to the hotel, a party Mill was there to attend had reached capacity as dictated by fire marshals.

The musician's attorney, Joseph Tacopina, said the hotel's claims that it was concerned about capacity was "outright false" and accused the establishment of maintaining a list of African American recording artists "who should be denied access for no other reason than their culture and skin color."

Tacopina previously told NBC News he was considering filing a complaint against the hotel if they did not apologize and grant Mill access.

In their Twitter statement on Friday, Cosmopolitan said it has "zero tolerance for discrimination."

"We pride ourselves on providing an inclusive environment," the hotel tweeted. "We look forward to welcoming Meek Mill back to the resort."

Tacopina told NBC News that they "appreciate" the hotel's apology and will no longer pursue legal action.