Three black women claim they were refused entry to the Kudo Beach Club in Phuket on 20 August. The video, widely shared at the end of October, turned into a gender debate on American social networks.
Published on 20 August on TikTok, a video of three black women accuses the Kudo Beach Club, located in Patong on the island of Phuket in Thailand, of preventing them from entering. In the video, a staff member justifies the refusal by citing "bad past experiences with black people". The sequence remained relatively discreet before being widely shared by African-American influencers at the end of October.
Questioned by an American YouTuber, the club categorically rejects any accusation of racism. It presents the decision as a security and profiling measure intended to prevent fights and to deter the entry of foreign nationals seeking to offer sexual services.
The video quickly circulated in online spaces within American and international black communities. Reactions were deeply divided. Some see it as a blatant racial stereotype and outright discrimination. Others, including many black men, defend the right of a private establishment to set its own security rules, arguing that certain groups of tourists have already caused problems on site.
The debate quickly took on a gendered turn. Black women have publicly questioned the support given by some black men to the Thai club rather than to their compatriots refused entry. This rift has transformed a local access refusal into a broader discussion on solidarity within black communities. The Thai owners of the club, the Keesin family (Pisona Group, an influential family from Patong in Phuket), risk worsening the tourism situation by turning away these American women.