LGBTQIA+ group accuses Virat Kohli's restaurant chain of 'gender discrimination', eatery dismisses allegation

The LGBTQIA+ activism group, Yes, We Exist, in a series of posts on its Instagram handle said the Zomato listings for the Kohli owned eatery chain, which has restaurants in Pune, Delhi and Kolkata, say "stags are not allowed".

"We DM'ed them two weeks ago, but got no response. We called the Pune branch, they confirmed that entry is allowed only for cisgender heterosexual couples or groups of cisgender women," the group claimed in its post.

"Gay couples or a group of gay men not allowed, trans women are allowed subject to their clothing (sic)," said the LGBTQIA+ group adding that "One8 Commune's Delhi branch did not answer, Kolkata said stags are allowed, although their Zomato booking page says otherwise."

"Discrimination against LGBTQIA+ guests is common at such fancy restaurants, bars and clubs in India, and Virat Kohli is no exception," it said.

The group said in a response to a petition by its founder, Zomato had launched an 'LGBTQIA friendly' tag for restaurants that do not discriminate against the community.

"Zomato did not agree to stop partnering with restaurants that discriminate, however, it assured that it will routinely attempt to sensitise restaurants to have inclusive entry policies," the LGBT rights group said in its social media post.

"We have emailed Zomato asking if they have attempted to sensitise Virat Kohli," it added.

After the post went viral, amid heavy backlash on social media, Kohli's restaurant chain One8 Commune rejected the allegations against it.

"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," the restaurant chain said in a statement posted on its social media handles.

"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," One8 Commune said.

"That does not in any way mean that our company policy provides any discriminatory entry rules for/against any particular community," it added.

"If there has been any inadvertent miscommunication or misplaced impression with regards to the same, we would request the concerned person to kindly reach out to us so that the issue can be resolved in an effective and appropriate manner," the restaurant chain said.

"Our customers are our first priority, and building strong, long-term relationships with them is what our value system was built on from the beginning," the Kohli owned eatery added.