Virat Kohli and his restaurant land in trouble with LGBTQIA community, THIS is the reason

A restaurant chain owned by Team India captain Virat Kohli, One8 Commune, has raised a fresh storm after it was accused of being biased by an advocacy group of discriminating against the LGBTQIA+ community.

Team India captain Virat Kohli with wife Anushkar Sharma. (Source: Twitter)

Team India captain Virat Kohli is taking a break after the disappointing campaign at the ICC T20 World Cup 2021. Kohli, who gave up India’s T20 captaincy, is taking a break from the New Zealand T20 series as well as the first Test in Kanpur against the Kiwis but there seems to be no end to his woes.

A restaurant chain owned by Kohli, One8 Commune, has raised a fresh storm after it was accused of being biased by an advocacy group of discriminating against the LGBTQIA+ community. ‘Yes, We Exist’ said that One8 Commune has branches in Pune, Delhi and Kolkata. The Zomato listings for the restaurant say ‘stags are not allowed’.

“We DM’ed (direct messaged) them 2 weeks ago, got no response. We called the Pune branch, they confirmed that entry is not allowed only for cisgender heterosexual couples or groups of cisgender woman; gay couples or a group of gay men are not allowed; trans women allowed subject to their clothing,” the group wrote in an Instagram post.

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The Instagram post by ‘Yes, We Exist’ also said that they didn’t get any response from the Delhi branch of the chain, while the Kolkata branch said ‘stags are not allowed’ despite its Zomato booking page suggesting otherwise.

“Discrimination against LGBTQIA+ guests is common at such fancy restaurants, bars and clubs in India, and Virat Kohli is no exception,” the post added.

In addition, the group also said it has emailed Zomato asking if they have ‘attempted to sensitise’ Kohli. Responding to the claims made by ‘Yes, We Exist’, Kohli’s One8 Commune issued a statement on Monday saying it believes in ‘welcoming all people irrespective of their gender and/or preferences’.

“As our name denotes, we have always been inclusive in serving all communities since our inception,” the statement read. “Similar to industry-wide practice and in conformity with government rules, we obviously have a prohibition of stag entry policy (subject to relaxation) in place so as to ensure a safe and enjoyable environment for our guests.”

However, netizens have called out Kohli on social media and slammed him for the same.