Jermaine Massey

Jermaine Massey had just seen Travis Scott perform at the Moda Center on Sunday night and returned to his hotel when he saw that his mother had called.

She lives on the East Coast, so he assumed if she called so late, something must be wrong. So he sat down in the lobby of the DoubleTree Hotel in the Lloyd District to take the call before going up to his room.

Massey recounted what came next in a series of Instagram videos that have gone viral. Massey, from Kent, Washington, says in them that he was targeted by a security guard because he is black and that this led to Massey being kicked out of the hotel and having to find a new one near midnight.

It was his first time in Portland.

DoubleTree management released a statement that said the whole incident was a misunderstanding and that the hotel staff does not discriminate against people based on race.

Several people picked up the hashtag #HotelEarl after the name on the security guard’s badge. […]