The singer’s tone-deaf rant called Sexy Fish ’embarrassing’, but in whining like a spoiled toddler, the real embarrassment is the musician herself.
Don’t you know who I am?!
Dress codes are in place to be obeyed.
That was the message sent by London-based luxury Asian restaurant Sexy Fish, when they turned away Grammy-winning artist Jess Glynne after the 30-year-old arrived at their Berkeley Square restaurant in sportswear.
Feeling distressed that any self-respecting establishment could possibly turn away the Jess Glynne, the singer took to Instagram to vent, producing a sickening, tone-deaf rant that reeked of puerile entitlement. In her diatribe of privileged drivel, Glynne labelled her rejection (due to lack of adherence to the common dress code) as ‘pure discrimination’, and also complained that she was ‘made to wait‘ whilst staff decided if she was allowed in.
Reality check
Hollow and supercilious celebrities like Glynne remain seemingly blind to the sacrifices made by millions.
Whilst we all begin to feel the pressing economic hardship created by the coronavirus pandemic and sympathise with the 45,000 families who are still grieving, in Jess Glynne’s mind the single most pressing issue in society today is the refusal of a restaurant to bend its dress code to favour a customer who’s Grammy acts as a voucher that exempts them from any form of rules that may restrict their selfish needs. In a week where the nation applauded the NHS and its army of doctors, nurses and specialists who put their lives on the line to save ours, maybe we should have been clapping for Jess Glynne, who’s unfettered bravery in standing up to ‘rude’ staff had, until now, gone widely unnoticed.
Let’s face it, with a litany of hit singles, the ‘Rather Be’ singer is rich enough to find the clothes to conform to a fairly simple ‘smart casual’ dress code. Moreover, Sexy Fish’s website directly states: ‘we request that guests do not wear sportswear’ — meaning either Glynne did not bother to check whether she was in keeping with the restaurant’s entry requirements or simply did not care, on the assumption that she would be allowed in regardless.
It’s unclear why Glynne wishes to paint herself as a victim of a type of discrimination that does not exist. In her mind, she was turned away from Sexy Fish on the grounds of her ‘appearance’ — aligning herself, presumably, with victims of racial discrimination. Except that, there’s one fine difference between Glynne’s hoodie and tracksuit and those who are systematically mistreated due to the colour of their skin: hoodies can easily be changed for a dress. Amidst the backdrop of a resurgent Black Lives Matter movement, is now really the moment to complain about a hoodie?
It’s not as if the singer is exactly a trailblazer. Celebrities have a history of selfish entitlement. Back in 2014, actor and artist Shia LaBeouf was removed in handcuffs after deciding to improve a Broadway performance of ‘Cabaret’ with his own commentary entirely consisting of shouted obscenities.
‘Do you know who the f— I am? Do you know who I am?’ — Shia LeBeouf, to a security guard.
And in 2011, Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin was removed from an American Airlines flight for refusing to turn off his mobile. Yet his sanctimonious apology read more like a direct attack on the people simply enforcing the rules designed to keep Baldwin, and countless others, safe. In a HuffPost Blog, the actor blasted the plane’s crew, declaring that the ‘level of service on US carriers has deteriorated’ and characterised the air hostesses as ‘1950’s gym teachers’ strictly enforcing the rules.
Another half-baked apology was to come from Glynne, who — taking to Instagram once again — told her 797,000 followers that: ‘I was very aware of what I was wearing and it wasn’t about the dress code’, implying that despite knowing she was certain to be turned away, the singer still persevered in trying to blag her way into the ’empty’ luxury restaurant. Glynne went on to expose her lack of real-world understanding by complaining she was ‘blown back by the rudeness of the staff’ who, having spent months on furlough making ends meet with no prospect of a stable job to return to, had to deal with a disruptive and time-wasting celebrity guest unwilling to make the effort to meet the dress code she now admits she was perfectly aware of.
Whilst insufferable ‘stans’ rightly remind us that celebrities are also human beings when they encounter mental health issues or other impediments. Still, we should expect them to act with decency, respect and humbleness in return — something that narcissistic A-listers like Glynne simply cannot grasp.
If you or I rocked up in Berkeley Square looking for an Asian restaurant whilst dressed in trainers and a hoodie, we’d be rightly moved on.
Why should Jess Glynne expect anything different?
Image By: Drew de F Fawkes
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Thomas Godfrey
Thomas Godfrey is a Journalist at Shoutoutuk.org and runs a blog at thomasgodfrey.co.uk. Thomas also hosts the ‘This Week In Your Life’ podcast, available from Apple and Spotify.
