An employee at the Brooklyn venue Elsewhere has been fired for allegedly assaulting the rapper Pink Siifu, Loudwire reports. The alleged assault took place on October 4, at a show held in honor of the 20th anniversary of the British record label Lex Records.
After the October 4 show, Pink Siifu claimed that he was allegedly assaulted by a security guard at the venue, taking to Twitter to state emphatically that he “will never perform At @elsewherespace another day in my life.” He went on to post images showing injuries on his neck and ribs, stating that they were “scars n scratches from tha supervisor of elsewhere security, mind u eye ( me tha fkn artist ) played 2 sets last night and this like my 6th time playing at tha venue.”
On October 6, Elsewhere responded to Siifu’s claims, first by noting that the employee in question, described by Siifu as allegedly being the “supervisor of Elsewhere security,” had been fired. The venue published a statement noting that they are investigating the situation, while making clear that “the safety of our audiences, artists, and staff is essential in creating a safe and fun environment at Elsewhere. While these issues are always complex, we do NOT condone violence in any form.”
The statement goes on to recognize that while the venue emphasizes de-escalation in their training, they recognize their responsibility for the incident: “We fully recognize that we fell short on this night. We have an in-house security team that we staff and train so that such incidents never happen. Our training is focused on empathy, de-escalation and sensitivity, never aggression, which is when things can get out of hand. When a situation arose that night, unfortunately the actions that our security team member took failed to de-escalate it and were unacceptable. Because of this, they are no longer employed by Elsewhere.”
Elsewhere offers their apologies to “Pink Siifu, Eyedress, all the Lex Records artists and team members, all their family members and all the fans, and to our community that comes to Elsewhere as a beacon of progress and positivity,” while stating that they hope to work “towards reconciliation with Siifu and the artists’ teams to reach a place of understanding and peace.”
The statement closes by reiterating the staff’s commitment to making Elsewhere a safe space “where everyone can freely be themselves,” and opening the door for people to offer their feedback to the venue.
Pink Siifu has recently teamed up with Nosaj to drop the collaborative track “Look Both Ways.”
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