Erphaan accepts apology

A VIDEO posted on soca singer Erphaan Alves’ Instagram page three days ago seemed to garner heightened interest yesterday. In the video, Alves is seen sitting with his manager at the poolside of the Royal St Kitts Hotel, saying: “So, plot twist. Royal St Kitts Hotel: I am not pleased right now because a staff (sic) approached us asking what’s our room number and if we are staying here and decided not to ask anybody else who may be a little lighter in complexion. We don’t like that.”

He posted further: “I’m not allowing racial profiling to contaminate my beautiful Caribbean region! I’m not taking this lightly! No disrespect to the promoters who brought us here, they’ve been quite fine! But something just occurred and its rather unsettling!”

The hotel manager subsequently offered an apology, which Alves also posted. The manager said: “First I would like to apologise if you feel the approach from the restaurant manager was inappropriate. We welcome everyone to Splash and we do not discriminate. I can see how you may have taken the request to confirm your room number insulting. I assure you this was in no way due to your complexion. The manger said Splash (a hotel event) was “a business entity and as such we need to ensure that people using the pool are registered guests of the hotel or patrons of Splash. The manager meant no disrespect and I’m sure once she confirmed your room number and name she did not bother you again.” The manager again offered “my sincerest apologies if you felt disrespected in any way,” adding, “With the power of social media your message came through loud and clear.” Contacted yesterday, Alves said: “That was a little situation. I love St Kitts and the people. I dealt with it how best I felt I needed to. It was made public, they apologised, and that is the end of it. That is water off my back. I did what I had to do and management did what they had to do.” Alves said the incident happened last Saturday while he was there to perform at an event called Soca Revenge.