Video shows confrontation as Black food critic says he was pushed from SC restaurant
A Florence restaurant is under fire after a video began circulating, showing two white men pushing a Black food critic out the door for filming in the establishment.
In the video the two white men — who identified themselves as the manager and owner of the restaurant — can be seen pushing up against a Black content creator and food critic on YouTube, Facebook and TikTok known as Ben-a-Critic.
Ben-a-Critic is food reviewer with hundreds of videos and hundreds of thousands of followers across several social media platforms.
The altercation began after a man, claiming to be the manager, asked Ben-A-Critic to accompany him to the front door after seeing the critic filming in the restaurant.
The manager then asked the critic to leave the building without any type of warning against filming inside the establishment.
The State attempted to contact the critic for comment.
While nothing overtly racist was said in the video, terms like “boy” and “son” was used by both sides. And comments to the video included multiple claims of racism against the manager and owner.
“I’m the owner and you either need to leave or I’m going to put you in jail,” a man can be heard saying in the video. The man also claimed the critic assaulted him while on the phone with 911 while putting his hand in front of his face. There were no signs of a physical altercation in the video posted online.
In response to the video, which has amassed more than one million views, The State attempted to contact management at Percy and Willie’s, but did not receive a response.
Percy and Willie’s, located at 130 Dunbarton Drive, is a known for serving steaks and comfort food.
Immediately after asking Ben-a-Critic to leave the restaurant, the manger instructed someone to call the police and began “pushing up on the man,” according to the video.
It’s unclear whether the sheriff’s office responded to the location or whether an incident report was filed.
