Marvin Sapp Says Ruth's Chris Steak House Employee Snubbed Him; I Have 'Never Been So Offended in My Life,' He Says
Popular contemporary gospel artist and pastor of Full Life Center Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Marvin Sapp says he was snubbed so badly by an employee at a Ruth's Chris Steak House in Chicago the offense became a lifetime record for him.
Sapp, 48, took to his Facebook page to speak out about the Ruth's Chris Steak House Chicago encounter where he had gone with six members of his entourage to dine.
"#ToWhomItMayConcern This evening in the city of Chicago as a guest of this city, (Chicago GospelFest) I have been never so offended in my life," he wrote on Saturday. "At 'Ruth's Chris' a restaurant that I have eaten in across this country on many occasions, turned six members of my party and I away because of our attire. Stating they only serve individuals dressed in business casual attire."
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Sapp insisted, however, that others in the restaurant were dressed in casual attire, including "ripped jeans, sneakers, T-shirt, etc." The preacher decided he would post the business card of the individual who turned him and his party away.
"We had on the same as many sitting and or waiting to be seated, however, we were asked to leave. Even after asking for a private room, explaining that we were from out of town and so on, we were still turned away," Sapp wrote. "... So I decided to post the card of the individual who made the decision not to serve us. #doublestandardmaybe."
While thousands of Sapp's 2 million Facebook fans shared the post, one fan named Leah-Courtney Kelly, who said she was at the Ruth's Chris Steak House at the time of the alleged incident, offered a different account of what happened.
"I was sitting in the restaurant eating that day and actually sir you were wearing sweatpants and they have a business casual dress code that is printed and VISIBLE when you walk in. The manager asked if he had pants to change into, or if he wanted to come back he would buy him some appetizers but he was being ignorant," Kelly wrote. "I wish people would stop using this as a race thing. SERIOUSLY there are people dying of starvation in this world and here we have someone b******* that he's not allowed to eat at a steak house."
Sapp, however, countered Kelly's account.
"Didn't have on sweat pants. ... Had on a pair of Robbins Cargo pants, black T-shirt and Jordans. Also there was an eight month pregnant woman with us," Sapp noted. "None of us were dressed differently from anyone else in the restaurant respectfully. My issue is seeing people seated with ripped jeans and being told a rule that wasn't being applied to all patrons. ... Rules are made to be followed but not selectively enforced."
Sapp is no stranger to being vocal on his social media page, and has even used the platform to previously admit some of his own mistakes and reveal how he has overcome being disrespected.
"I made many mistakes, hurt individuals who are very important to me," Sapp wrote last year. "I've been slandered, stalked, accused, disrespected by people that I have helped and more. Yet to the best of my ability I maintain my integrity when I wanted to lose it."
