Woman Says Hamptons Restaurant Owner Moved Her Seat Because Of Hair

by Stacy Jackson

September 4, 2024

Rachel Tucker contacted her attorney after HBO star Zach Erdem allegedly threatened to call the police on her at his 75 Main restaurant.

Rachel Tucker, a curly-haired woman visiting 75 Main with her homegirls in The Hamptons, New York, said she felt humiliated after restaurant owner and HBO star Zach Erdem allegedly forced her to move tables because her “hair was too big.”

According to the woman who spoke to The Shade Room Investigates, the owner was summoned after a white family sitting at a table near her complained her hair was in the way. “As soon as I sat down, within five minutes, a man came over to me and said, ‘We have to move you because your hair is too big, and it’s in the way of the table behind you,’” she said.

Tucker’s family owns a home in the Hamptons, and she was enjoying a day out with her visiting friends, who are white. She said she’d never run into an issue during past visits to the restaurant; however, this time, she claimed Erdem asked her to move to a table in the back of his restaurant near the loud DJ booth. “We couldn’t hear a thing,” she said before her party was moved to another table outside.

The woman said she was shocked that hair was an issue at the Hamptons restaurant in 2024. Tucker only ordered a drink while her friends enjoyed full meals. She told her server that she wouldn’t be paying her bill due to the inconvenience. Although her server agreed, the 75 Main employees advised her to do so to avoid Erdem calling the police, which he threatened to do after a back-and-forth with Tucker. “I paid the bill and walked away,” Tucker said.

“I am not racist,” Erdem told TSR and proceeded to inform the outlet of his Black colleagues and Black girlfriends, stating, “I’m always with the Black people.” He denied commenting about Tucker’s hair being too big but claimed her hair was close to the complaining party whenever she backed up. “The guest was very uncomfortable,” he said. The 75 Main owner allegedly told a manager at the restaurant to cancel Tucker’s payment. “I hope it will make her happy,” he said.

Tucker has contacted her attorney, James Walker, regarding the incident at Erdem’s restaurant. Walker described the situation as “racial profiling” and stated the restaurant can’t discriminate just because they want to or put people through “emotionally traumatic” situations. According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2020 Decennial Census, just over 230 Black residents make up Southampton compared to the over 3,000 white residents in the area. The attorney is requesting a public apology and for 75 Main staff to participate in “sensitivity training.” Erdem said he is open to the training for his employees and issuing a public apology.