Oliver Bromley’s recent visit to a South London restaurant allegedly took a disheartening turn when the staff asked him to leave because he was “scaring the customers.”
As he lives with Neurofibromatosis Type 1, the British man revealed that it was a “horrible thing to happen,” and he took it “very personally.”
Neurofibromatosis Type 1 is a genetic condition that can lead to tumors (usually non-cancerous) developing on the nerves, which can consequently alter one’s appearance.
Oliver Bromley was asked to leave a South London restaurant because the staff claimed he was “scaring the customers”
Image credits: Life Of Pix
Image credits: Oliver Bromley
Oliver was receiving treatment from the King’s College Hospital when the August incident took place. He said he wasn’t in the mood for hospital food and was looking for a simple meal when he went to the restaurant in Camberwell.
Upon entering the establishment, he encountered a cash-only sign, prompting him to step outside to withdraw money. However, upon returning to place his order, he reportedly faced a shocking rejection.
“After entering I noticed a cash-only sign, so went straight back outside to withdraw my money,” he told BBC. “I went back into the restaurant to place an order, and they told me to ‘please leave,’ because in their words I was ‘scaring the customers‘, and there had been complaints about me.”
“It’s a horrible thing to happen. I took it very personally on the day,” he said about the August incident
Image credits: Oliver Bromley
Image credits: ISABEL RAMÍREZ
“There had not been enough time between the time I had been there first, and the time I went back, for anyone to have made a complaint about me so obviously the restaurant staff were not happy with the way I looked,” he continued.
Following the incident, Oliver lodged a formal complaint but received no response from the restaurant.
This led him to report the matter to the police, who described the incident as a hate crime but said they were “unlikely” to further pursue the matter.
Despite the emotional toll, Oliver said the incident is allowing him to “create awareness around people with facial deformities, facial differences.”
Despite the toll it took on him and his family, Oliver said the incident is allowing him to “create awareness around people with facial deformities, facial differences.”
“It’s not about me. It’s never been about me,” he added. “I don’t want retribution.”
He also noted that it could have been the restaurant staff’s lack of knowledge about the medical condition that led to their actions.
“They probably thought having tumors was contagious or something,” he told the outlet.
Netizens agreed that it was “awful” that the restaurant would turn him away because of his facial differences
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