Dallas restaurant owner Kevin Kelley is facing the wrath of social media after video of his anti-twerking rant went viral Sunday night. Videos from Kelley's establishment, True Kitchen, showed a woman dancing to Lil' Ronny MothaF's 2016 single, "Circle," as fellow diners cheered her on. Subsequent video shows, Kelley entering the dining are and verbally bashing the diner's actions.
“[Stop with] all this twerking s---. Don’t bring it here because we’re a restaurant,” Kelley said.
“If you want to do [that], get the f--- out my restaurant. Don’t do it again. I don’t want to hear it if you don’t like it. Get out [of here] because I don’t need your money.”
Kelley's sentiments were criticized by a number of social media users, customers and potential customers. Many felt that True Kitchen created an environment where dancing and carefree behavior was encouraged, not frowned upon. Not to mention, the chorus of the song tells the crowd to "throw that a-- in a circle." Dallas native Lil' Ronny MothaF eventually jumped in to offer his two cents.
"The owner [of] True Kitchen needs to give that DJ a raise," he tweeted.
"He was playing a Dallas classic and Dallas people reacted accordingly."
Other critics of Kelley's comments felt that his viral rant promoted anti-Black, misogynistic ideals. Specifically, his comments suggested that he felt twerking in a restaurant lacked decency.
***The video below contains profane language***
"Beyond that, 75% of my customers are ladies. I want men to show respect for themselves with how they carry themselves here. How can I tell the men to respect themselves and you are twerking," he asked the crowded restaurant.
"Not the owner of the most popular Black restaurant in Dallas telling women to 'get the f--- out his restaurant' for twerking," Dallas native and author Taylor Crumpton tweeted.
"It's giving us respectability politics."
Despite criticism, Kelley has doubled down on his comments. A comment from what is believed to be the restaurant owner's Facebook profile claimed that he had asked multiple customers to stop twerking in the restaurant prior to his rant.
"There were three tables that had been spoken to about twerking. They were approached very politely less than ten minutes before," Kelley wrote.
"No song played is an excuse to stand on our furniture and do what this lady did."
Photo Credit: Getty Images