Aside from Mike Tyson, Post Malone may be rocking the most famous face tattoos in the world, making him instantly recognizable to almost anybody on the planet, regardless of whether or not they have ever listened to his music. We say “almost anybody” because apparently a bouncer in Perth, Australia had no idea who they were dealing with over the weekend when they refused entry to the beloved musician. 

While Down Under on tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Post Malone attempted to go to the posh rooftop bar at Perth’s QT Hotel and was denied entry by security. In a statement from QT Hotels they reference a dress code strictly banning any “face, neck and offensive tattoos.” 

“They turned me away for my tattoos,” Post Malone told the West Australian. “I’ve never really experienced that.” 

Tattoo discrimination is nowhere near as rampant as it once was, but it is still very prevalent, so this is far from the first time people have been denied entry to a bar because of tattoos. Often bars or clubs will use tattoo regulations as a coded way to keep out people they find undesirable, often using the myth of face or neck tattoos being always gang affiliated as the justification. What makes this incident notable is that it happened to one of the world’s most famous faces, which is why it’s not surprising that the hotel chain came out with a statement placing the blame on a third party almost immediately. 

“At QT, we aim to welcome everyone and celebrate the uniqueness of each individual,” a statement to Daily Mail Australia read. “QT has been recognized for this for many years. However, on Saturday night, our third-party security did not exercise the appropriate discretion and we take full responsibility for this. We sincerely apologize to the individuals affected.”

Post Malone’s notoriety is the reason anybody took notice of this story, and it clearly is the driving factor behind the apology. It’s great that they are doing the right thing and hopefully working towards more tattoo inclusion moving forward. But, not to be overly cynical, tattoo discrimination like this happens on a daily basis all over the world. If this was just a regular person off of the street there would be no discussion and likely no recourse from the establishment. Hopefully, stories like Post’s will help change unnecessarily strict dress codes and allow more tattoo acceptance. 

Header Photo by Jason Goodrich