Advertisement

West End star and BBC actor Layton Williams kicked out of Edinburgh Fringe venue in 'racial profiling' row

Actor and former Billy Elliot star Layton Williams: Alex Lentati
Actor and former Billy Elliot star Layton Williams: Alex Lentati

A theatre company has apologised to a mixed race actor after he accused security staff of "racial profiling" when he was turned away from a show at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Layton Williams, 23, who played Stephen in Jack Whitehall's BBC comedy series Bad Education, posted a video on Twitter claiming he had been turned away from the Assembly Hall venue on Sunday.

Mr Williams, who has also performed the lead role in Billy Elliot in London's West End, said he was told he "looked like" somebody who had jumped the fence two weeks earlier.

Speaking to the camera, he said: “These people over here [the security] think I was here two weeks ago because I look like another mixed race b***h.

“I can prove I wasn’t here two weeks ago. But I’ve just been kicked out of a venue for looking suspicious because I look like somebody else. But that’s not me.

“I’ve got the receipts to prove it but they don’t want to see the receipts.”

In the clip, he is seen telling security staff: “This is going on Twitter y’all.”

One member of staff, in George Square Gardens, appears to then raise their middle finger towards the young actor.

Me Williams adds: “Want to talk about racial profiling? Here it is in the flesh."

Assembly Festival, which is responsible for events at the venue during Edinburgh Fringe, has apologised to Mr Williams for the way its security staff handled the incident.

Layton was previously in Bad Education on the BBC (BBC)
Layton was previously in Bad Education on the BBC (BBC)

He later tweeted: "Call it profiling or call it racial profiling. Whatever it is, it was a joke and I hope they don’t do this to anyone else again.”

He went on to described his so-called "suspicious" outfit, adding: “I wonna [sic] show you my “Suspicious” outfit. If you look closely my socks are GLITTERY! GLITTER SOCKS & a COW JUMPER.”

A number of people responded to the actor with some fans branding the reported incident "disgusting".

A fellow actor and friend wrote that their night had been "flipped upside down" following the issue.

Mr Williams is currently starring as Seaweed in a UK tour of Hairspray, according to his agent's website.

The Bury-born actor, whose social media accounts say he is now based in London, is well-known for his portrayal of Billy Elliot at Victoria Palace Theatre in the West End.

He was the first mixed race person and the second non-Caucasian to undertake the role.

He has also undertaken TV roles in Beautiful People and ITV’s Benidorm.

Assembly Festival apologised to the actor.

A statement, released on social media, read: “We would like to apologise Layton Williams for how the incident in George Square Gardens was handled by our staff and security last night. We are currently looking into the situation with our security contractor and will be investigating this further.

“We would also like to reassure all performers and audiences that we are committed to making sure that our spaces remain welcoming for everyone attending shows and using our venues.”

A spokesperson for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: “The Fringe Society believes that everyone should feel welcome at the Fringe, and we are liaising with Assembly who are investigating the incident that took place in Assembly Gardens last night.”