Daphne Blunt blasts iconic Hotel Bel-Air after bar incident, sparking major firestorm

The Hotel Bel-Air is facing a massive social media backlash after actress and influencer Daphne Blunt publicly accused the legendary five-star retreat of racially profiling and discriminating against her during a visit to its swanky bar.

In a viral July 21 TikTok video that has set internet comments ablaze, Blunt claimed she was singled out, aggressively carded, and ultimately refused service by the venue’s restaurant and bar general manager — an interaction she alleges was fueled by race.

The apparent ordeal began when she sat down for drinks with two white friends and the waiter asked to see her ID. Initially unable to find it, she asked if the staff would accept a digital, government-issued ID stored in her Apple wallet, which they would not.

Blunt, 28, said she soon discovered that her physical ID and credit cards were tucked inside a pocket of her Hermes Birkin bag. By then, the manager had stepped in to double down.

“She has decided that this is her moment, that she is going to show me,” Blunt said on TikTok.

“And even though now I have not only my physical ID, my virtual ID, a photo of my passport and my birthday is Googleable, she is now refusing to accept only my ID. She was totally willing to accept both my friend’s ID’s, who are both white.”

When Blunt pressed the manager on why she was still being denied service despite producing valid physical identification, the woman reportedly claimed the hotel couldn’t risk losing its liquor license by serving her, according to the influencer.

“I said, ‘You’re really willing to throw away loyal patrons who have been coming here for years, who bring you so much business, over you being unwilling to accept my valid California ID?’” Blunt recalled. “And I just had no other way to feel about this than to know that it was racially motivated.”

The treatment was particularly jarring because she had visited the Hotel Bel-Air numerous times with her family without ever encountering any problems. “I don’t feel comfortable supporting establishments that employ people who are being openly bigoted and racist because no one was there to tell her that she couldn’t,” Blunt added.

The backlash to her story was instant and brutal, with angry commentators taking to the hotel’s official Instagram page. Hotel Bel-Air’s polished grid — which is usually reserved for its picture-perfect lush green grounds, resident swans, and drinks by its massive oval pool — has been overrun with people calling for the firing of the manager involved.