On the guest list? Always have a plan B if you’re black, as you’re never promised a seat at their table. We investigate the true colours of London’s Clubland.
he littest clubs with the hottest DJs, the Central London club scene is notorious for being exclusive and cut-throat and in particular with attitudes towards picking women to populate events. It’s a vicious circle for club goers who want to be on the list… but at what cost? For some Londoners, the colour of their skin is becoming a barrier to enjoying the clubland experience.
Nia is a 26-year-old, newly qualified solicitor who loves to live a soft life and party hard on the weekends. She lets us in on her experience with Mayfair Nightclubs.
I received an invite to Reign London by a promoter named Ali, he promised to out me on the guest list, with a table and free drinks for all of my friends. I always wanted to go to Reign, so I was excited. It has a reputation for being a lit and exclusive club, so I was interested to see what it was really like. There were two security guards and one Eastern European door lady at the entrance. Her energy seemed off.
Once I told her my cousin and I, for context we’re both black, were on Ali’s guest list, she looked at us blankly and bluntly told us that his table was full and to ask him to come outside. We were confused as to how the club could be full at 11pm, when the line opened at 10:30pm? Out of curiosity, I checked his Instagram to see how his table really looked – there were only two girls there. The door lady asked us to leave the queue and wait elsewhere. I was so annoyed – he invited us and we were still treated this way.
“As a black woman, I’m used to stuff like this but they had no reason to turn us away based on our physical appearance that we didn’t fit their ‘quota’.”
I DM’d Ali and filled him in on the situation and he asked for my WhatsApp, then he messaged me redirecting my cousin and I to another club, LUXX. This club was only a 5 minute drive from Reign, but that doesn’t make it any more appealing. This wasn’t the plan, and Ali started making excuses by claiming that he was ‘helping us’. The female bouncer made a snark comment claiming that it’s a 21+ club and denied us entry, even though I was 25 and my cousin was 23 at the time. Ali finally shut me down making excuses that the decision was up to the club and not him, so at that point I blocked him.
My cousin went home really upset, she thought it was her fault that we didn’t get in. I explained that it’s because they don’t like how we look. I’ve seen the most mediocre females get into these clubs because they’re white. People may receive that as an insult, but it’s not. Mid white women have a privilege. For black women to get even half of what they have we have to be twice as attractive and well dressed.
I posted a TikTok about the situation with text receipts, a year after posting it surprises me how I still get engagement till this day, but it’s so important that I raised awareness. If the club has a specific look that they want, why was the promoter DM-ing me telling me to come?
But Nia’s not alone. Tiah is a 22-year-old former NHS worker, a self-proclaimed homebody, but on occasion likes to turn up on the weekends with her girlfriends.
“It stings more when it comes from your own people.”
For a friends birthday, she planned for a group of us to party at a Central London club. I had a slight feeling that I would face some sort of discrimination, but I just kept it in mind. We got there early, with barely anyone in the queue. She is a White Latina and goes to these clubs a lot, so we followed her lead because she knows how to carry herself in these situations. Out of our group, I was the darkest one, I consider myself brown skinned.
The door people were sizing the queue up, judging what people are wearing and if they looked suitable enough to come in. There were two black girls in front of us who didn’t get in. It got to us and standing before us were three female security staff at the door; one white, mixed race and black. Funnily enough, the woman with my skin complexion was the one that I felt the most disapproval from.
She scanned me up and down, said hi, in a belittling tone, I felt that her energy was off. Then requested my ID and then peered down at one of my friends who was sitting on a step as her heels were hurting.
Our entry was denied because the club night was suddenly 21+ and the birthday girl was just turning 20. One of my friends thought that vibe was off with the door lady towards me. I explained it’s because I’m the black girl in the group. I just felt like that the black lady was very ‘whitewashed’, she was the same colour as me and still treating me that way. I didn’t entertain it and kept it classy because I refuse to play up to a stereotype if I retaliated and proved her right.
The reasons behind this unfair treatment are clear, according to our anonymous promoter source, who hosts events for Central London clubs.
“It’s so brutal, you do really have to be a cunt to work in that.”
I work in Mayfair. It’s good because the clubs give fair payment, including £10 per girl invited and a percentage for people buying a table, which normally go for at least £2,000. Promoters get in for free. However, if you’re a nice person and not trying to do clubbing your whole life, it can be a bit damaging for your image. As it can ruin relationships, especially when they reject people that you actually respect who don’t fit the ideal image of the strict door people.
The promoter says that in their experience the clubbing scene is very selective and exclusive. We as promoters, do care for our guests but don’t have control over who gets accepted, the people in charge are usually a really cunty door girl and the nightclub manager. You have to be mean in this industry and it’s hard because people think that promoters have a lot of power but they really don’t. They confirm that women of colour are held to a higher standard and look for women who have whiter features and cute outfits.
The staff at the door are really brutal towards black girls who don’t have those features. The treatment differs depending on which club you bring them to. But even if they do get let in, they will not get a table. Apparently it’s because a lot of the guests buy tables which are worth thousands of pounds and they want to see ‘beautiful models’, not everyday girls.
The promoter adds that clubs are OK with one black girl, but when there’s a whole group, they don’t like it. The tend to be redirected to ‘easier clubs’ and end up having a better time there.
The door people are all white, they pretend that they ‘don’t see colour’ but if a black girl was acting ‘ghetto’ then they would feel uncomfortable. The clubs believe those girls might cause trouble. They favour black girls who they consider posh and proper.
A lot of people find me on TikTok and it’s hard because there will be girls who go to promoters who have already rejected them, and come to me thinking I can get them in. I can always try but can never promise they will get in through me.
This racist clubbing system is very outdated, not aligning with our diverse London culture.
“I don’t think they’re going to be progressive and once they see that people have no hope in Mayfair, they might try to change for themselves. I hope they will change, maybe an article out one day that calls them out?”