Photo courtesy of Lit Lounge
For better or for worse, we live in a world in which things you text to one person have the potential to get screen captured and blasted to their 2,475 followers. That’s precisely what happened to Lit Lounge co-owner Erik Foss following this week’s “Lit Mondays.”
Erik Foss’ Text Message to Prince Terrence (photo: via Prince Terrence’s Instagram)
After popping by his bar Monday night, an aggravated Foss sent a text message to Prince Terrence, one of the DJs who plays tunes at Lit on Mondays. Prince Terrence then posted the text on his Instagram, adding that “tonight was the last #litmondays.” The post resulted in nearly 70 likes and many harshly-worded comments. It was also shared via Facebook (which is where the reader who shared it with us had discovered it). The post has since been removed.
We reached out to Foss via e-mail to get his side of the story. Here’s what he had to say:
This situation was blown way out of proportion.
When I walked into my place last night the guy to girl ratio was 10-1.
It was the worst crowd I have seen in the bar on a Monday in ages.
This was where my reference to a “holding cell ” spurred from.
I had asked both DJ’s Joshua Wildman and Prince Terrance several times to tone down the top 40 hip hop and mix their sets up.
The police were parked right outside and that alone stressed me out.
Both my security guards were out front handling the crowd on the street.
When I walked to the back of the bar I witnessed people smoking weed and had to have them thrown out.
The vibe was very seedy and felt dangerous.
The text I sent to Terrence was also sent to the other DJ, Joshua Wildman.
It was heated because these 2 DJs have been working for me for years and ignored my request.
I am an artist and business owner that has been living in Manhatten since 1996.
I’ve employed hundreds of young people and shown hundreds of artists in my gallery over the past 12 years.
I have friends of every color and ethnicity.
The implication of me being racist is cruel and hurtful.
I love all cultures and as an artist I have made work utilizing aspects of every culture.
I was raised by a single mother in a community in Chandler Arizona where my middle and high school were primarily Mexican American and American Indian.
I am so disgusted by all this it’s very difficult to even respond to such ridiculous accusations.
I hope this answered every one’s questions.
I hope that the general community sees that my text to my employees was a not thought out heated text in the spur of the moment about their job performances.
We’ve all been guilty of this.
I’m sorry, but anyone who doesn’t see the implications of linking hip-hop, prison, and stereotypical negative connotations is a moron. Maybe Mr. Foss should concentrate on educating himself on the larger, messed-up issue rather than sending over pictures of random Black people lounging on your bar and stories of being down with people of color in order to backtrack out of trouble….
Every person who is a racist tells you “I cannot be racist because I am friends with….”. Stop using the fact that knowing one person of African American descent refutes the potential of you being racist. It’s offensive to any minority with an IQ.
Ok let me get this straight, he walked into his bar and saw a few black people, heard some hip hop music and assumed they were dangerous and got scared?! Wow, this explanation makes him look one million times more racist than that insanely offensively racist text message. SMH
He said ‘I went to high school with mexicans I’m not racist’ LMfAOooooooo omg. What a fucking racist.
Everyone chill the fuck out- Erik is certainly NOT racist. If you know him you would know he could care less what skin color someone is. If you have ever worked in night life you would know a 10-1 ratio guy to girl ratio is not good for business, it’s his spot he has every right to decide what he wants playing at his club. Also Erik is not some hip hop hater- he just did not want it playing on monday nights any more. And just because someone doesn’t want to hear hip hop at one of their clubs night doesn’t mean they are racist- that is SOOOO ignorant! Also since when is everyone so damn PC- chill the fuck out and look at your own self. Because if someone blasted your private texts you’d probably look like an asshole too- we all would.
Agree 100%. I’ve met him several times – he’s even offered me a night to perform live hip hop – with my girl DJ – to put some more YIN in the mix. He’s not racist. I’ve been in there nights when it feels scary because there are just way to many heavy, intense dudes, and this is regardless of race. Anyone can look dumb with their texts on blast and I honestly don’t think Terrence was trying to expose him as a bigot. Just heated, and maybe a little misguided…
Lit is the best! Keep it cool and cut the hip hop!
come on guys- everyone getting their panties in a wad. when was the last time you enjoyed walking into a sausage fest- and just because someone may not want to hear hip hop in their club doesn’t mean they are racist and dislike black people. It just means maybe they don’t like listening to top 40 hip hop surrounded by a bunch of dudes with no girls in their club.
Love it when ignorant white hipster douches realize with great shock that the blipsters they hang out with (who probably scan as white or Oreos or “not like the others” to them) are still, in fact, black people who have dealt with plenty of racism from society and will not tolerate it from their “friends.”
Gotta call your bluff. It was a normal M/F ratio for a bar (espec monday)- early on 2 to 1 then wen it got busier abt 4 to 1. I didnt smell weed and I was in the back all night sitting down, so lets assume thats a flat out lie.
You’re not an open racist, I believe you. You’re probably not even knowingly racist, but believe me when 500 people all start calling you racist for something you said/did, its best to at least attempt to understand why that is rather than tell them to not be offended.
That said, no one accepts your fake apology/explanation, so spare us. A sincere apology asks for forgiveness for the way you acted rather than trying to undermine the reaction to your actions. Try again another day.
Well you know what black people and Mondays have in common right? Everyone hates Mondays. Full circle people…
i am friends with all parties involved . the st patricks night party sucked in the opinion of the owner. he didn’t want the music, commercial hip hop, played in his club. terrance and his wife bijoux have worked for the club for years. terrance called foss after and said he knew foss wasn’t racist. this is a non issue. sour grapes over a party that didn’t impress. happens everyday. if racism was a factor terrance would not have been hired in the first place and the party would never had started. foss looked around the room and saw a lot of guys including st patricks day revelers and felt the vibe wasn’t what he wanted. no big deal. terrance knows he is wrong he should apologize and move on.
I’m an African-American Jewish female and I’ve been hired by plenty of racist people to do what they’re incapable of doing. Wake the fuck up.
10 to male to female ratio!!! I want in!!!!
everybody knows in the club you can only let in 5% black people. if its 25 people in line you can only let in 1 1/4 black people. so hopefully there’s a black midget in the crowd.
Did they rlly have to use a Pic Of a black chick to prove theyre not racist
I support Erik’s actions. As a Jewish man I can relate to his fear of the whole “Prison cell” situation. Black people make me nervous, I am one to speak the truth, I have lived in Williamsburg 20 years, in the home my Grandmother left me. Safe place. But I don’t step foot many other places in Brooklyn due to the “Jail Cell situation” Erik Foss has stated. Especially with all of those “Knock Out” games blacks play all over the east coast and the recent attacks on our Jewish families in NYC. I wish his place of business was a safer place. But unfortunately when “Hip Hop” music is played. Black people show up and it ends up looking like a “prison cell”. #TeamErikFoss #ISupportErikFoss
Interesting, so because a few dumb teenagers knock out people who ain’t paying attention to their surroundings all “blacks” qualify for permanent suspect status? Well that is text book racist code for “see,this incident justifies my irrational fear of those powerful ,unpredictable ,hyper sexual,terrifying black bodies.so its ok to destroy all of their hopes and dreams. so we can feel smug and safe on our pile of stolen loot”. people in positions of authority,who identify as white have been using the behavior of certain individuals and economic demographics as a indicator of the nature of all black people for hundreds of years to justify their own brutality and inhumane social policies.very old strategy and its Pathological actually. and ur Being self righteous,even smug about ur apparent pride in being a scared ,privileged dumb a$$ who just happens to lack the ability to process vitamin D directly from sunlight only sweetens the irony.
Black Nationalist orgasm. I’ve been robbed by a group of white men in Boston. Possibly a Jew in the bunch. I should thereby quiver every Friday night in Bed Stuy or when I walk into the Pratt campus?
But what should I expect from a person who thinks a disembodied spirit in space made the universe just for him and his lady hating brothers with their collective bad taste in fashion. Better to hide in ur book of fairy tales than to seal about a world u don’t want to live in anyway.
Seal = squeal. (Thanks to android auto correction for the nonsense)
Don’t you have some kids to molest or something you racist inbred fuckwad
Micha Horowitz needs to the move the fuck outta brooklyn! The fuck outta nyc and the fuck off the planet. People like you make society’s progression impossible. Its 2014, open your pathetic little mind. You are a disgrace to the human race and I will pray for the future of your thoughts
Manhattan is far from the multicultural melting pot that it used to be. Your closed minded fear based mentalities are a large part of what’s ruining nightlife.
First of all…..Just because he has friends of color or grew up with “minorities” doesn’t mean he’s not racist. The fact that he used that in attempts to justify himself not being racist is proof of ignorance.
Second of all…If his comment wasn’t coming from a racist ideology, why would he use “jail cell” in the text. He clearly felt comfortable enough to let that spill out to the DJ he hired thinking he wouldn’t be offended. That’s ignorant as it gets. Had it been a sausage fest of a predominantly white crowd, do you really think he would have used the jail cell metaphor?? Ask yourself honestly. We all know the answer. NO. He may not be a bad person but he’s getting called out on making an ignorant comment that is unacceptable in any profession. His secondary mistake was thinking he can share a comment of that level of stupidity to a person of color. Its a good thing that his DJ did that.
1 love Spread love and awareness 7:30 Birdie Alliance
It’s clear that this Foss person is too ignorant to spell, but the writers for this site should have at least spell checked the word “Manhattan” for him. What a disgraceful spelling error, almost as disgraceful as this man’s insidious racism.