Meek Mill to sue Cosmopolitan for alleged racial discrimination

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - The attorney representing rapper Meek Mill said he plans to file a lawsuit against the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas for racial discrimination.

Mill was threatened with arrest outside the hotel on Saturday afternoon.

The rapper was seen on video talking to security personnel from inside a car who refused to allow him to enter the lobby.

"If you do not leave this property immediately, you will be subject to arrest," the man tells Mill.

The video posted by the rapper on Saturday and recorded by someone with Mill inside the vehicle starts with the hotel representative suggesting the issue stems from a "past altercation" involving Mill.

The Philadelphia rapper then asks for details about the incident which he says he knows nothing about. 

"I wasn't there. This is way bigger than me," says the guard.

"Meek was like you have me confused with somebody else," said attorney Joe Tacopina to FOX 5 NY morning program, 'Good Day New York.' 

Mill said he was last at the hotel five years ago for an event with Jay Z.

Tacopina sent a letter alleging racism to the Cosmopolitan.

"... we have learned that the Cosmopolitan maintains a list of African American recording artists who should be denied access for no other reason than than their culture and skin color," wrote Tacopina, reports TMZ.

The hotel responded in a statement Monday.

"The recent situation regarding Meek Mill related to a matter of security, not race, and any reports citing otherwise are false. We pride ourselves on providing an inclusive environment, with zero tolerance for discrimination. Under different circumstances, Meek Mill would be welcomed to the resort, but not at the compromise of his personal safety and the safety of our guests."

The hotel went on to say that the club Marquee where Mill was presumably going to see a performance had reached capacity. 

"But he wasn't going into the club, he was going into the hotel," responded Tacopina.

"The cosmopolitan hotel .... and it’s a few other hotels that be doing this to black entertainers because they don’t want too many blacks on they property! Vegas notorious for this too its not just me!!!!" wrote Mill on Twitter.

Days earlier, the Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Mill should be granted a new trial with a new judge, in a court appeal.

In 2018, Mill spent five months in state prison in Pennsylvania for a probation violation stemming from his 2008 arrest for drug and gun charges.

Mill, whose real name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, has fought to have his conviction overturned because of credibility issues with the officer who testified against him.

The officer was among the police officers the prosecutor's office has sought to keep off the stand in cases across the city because of credibility questions.