Raye in racism row with London's Ivy Chelsea Garden
Singer Raye has accused upmarket London restaurant The Ivy Chelsea Garden of 'disgusting and blatant racism'.
The musician, 20, launched into a furious tirade against the popular venue's Chelsea branch after her black friend was refused entry because his outfit didn't comply to their 'smart dress code' - while her white friend was let inside in casual sports gear.
Uploading a video of the altercation to her Instagram account on Monday, Raye named and shamed the venue.
The Ivy Chelsea Garden have since hit back with a statement released to MailOnline, denying that race played any part in the incident.
Furious: Singer Raye has accused upmarket London venue The Ivy Chelsea Garden of 'disgusting and blatant racism' (pictured in February)
The caption reads: 'RACISM in the most disgusting and blatant form. It says on ur website there is NO DRESS CODE. Do not EVER go to @ivychelsgarden. I am fuming'.
In the video, Raye is seen standing in the doorway alongside two casually clad companions.
It is not clear whether the friend who was turned away at the door features in the short clip.
The Brit School-educated star, whose real name is Rachel Kee, is heard exclaiming how unjust the situation is, accusing the venue of racism for not letting the man in.
She declares: 'You let my white friend in and she's dressed like this and you don't let my black friend in?'
A flustered member of staff at the front desk is seen saying, 'It's absolutely like that, stop taking a video, I'm not allowing you.'
Dress code: The musician, 20, whose real name is Rachel Kee, accused the venue of racism for not letting her black friend in after casually clad white members of the group had
Controversy: It is not clear whether the friend who was turned away at the door features in the short clip, which was posted by Raye to her Instagram account
Race row: A flustered member of staff at the front desk is seen saying, 'It's absolutely like that, stop taking a video, I'm not allowing you'
Raye declares: 'I will take a video and I will post it to my 100,000 followers and let everyone know what's going on because it's out of order.'
Turning away from the door, she ushers her friends away, raging: 'Come on, let's go. We're not coming back to The Ivy again. It's disgusting. It's absolutely disgusting. It's racist!'
The furious singer then took to her Instagram account to share a short email message from The Ivy Chelsea Garden, in which the venue said they it had 'absolutely nothing to do with racism', adding, 'we completely refute these allegations'.
Uploading a screengrab of the exchange, Raye urged her followers to share her post, saying she felt 'heartbroken' by the experience.
She wrote: 'Explain to me why is says on your website “There is NO DRESS CODE at @ivychelsgarden” .
Venue: The Ivy Chelsea Garden is located on popular King’s Road in the heart of Chelsea and describes itself as a 'relaxed yet sophisticated all-day dining restaurant'
Hitting back: The restaurant has denied that race played any part in the incident, telling MailOnline that 'a mistake had been made'
Tranquil: The Ivy Chelsea Garden says it 'offers tranquil al fresco dining all year' and is billed as 'the perfect setting for any occasion'
'What I experienced was heartbreaking. I was shaking . Explicit racism . Not in MY CITY. Plz share (sic)'.
Raye also revealed she had screengrabbed the the restaurant’s information section, which said there was 'no dress code'.
The website has since been updated to read: 'The Ivy Chelsea Garden dress code is Smart Casual.'
A spokesperson for The Ivy Chelsea Garden told MailOnline: 'There was a situation yesterday during which a gentleman was refused entry because he was wearing non smart casual clothing.
'Unfortunately, a mistake had been made and another member of his party had earlier been allowed in wearing similar clothing.
'The dress code for our restaurant is smart casual. We are sorry that this was not made clear on our website and other channels and this ambiguity has now been rectified.
Shocked: Sharing a screengrab of the exchange, Raye urged her followers to share her post, saying she felt 'heartbroken' by the experience
The website has since been updated to read: 'The Ivy Chelsea Garden dress code is Smart Casual'
'The Ivy Chelsea Garden takes all allegations of racism extremely seriously and we will make sure that our dress code is explained to all guests so that this confusion does not happen again.'
Speaking about the ordeal, Raye has now told MailOnline: 'My colleague, who is a white girl, walked straight into the restaurant wearing sports gear and trainers. Then my black friend, who was wearing shorts and trainers was refused entry.
'I challenged them on this because to me this is blatant racism. I checked on the Ivy Chelsea's website and it says there is 'no dress code'.
'Why would they let in a white person, but stop a black man dressed the same? This type of behaviour needs to be called out and spoken up about.
'I filmed the incident because I felt so angry and disappointed. It is heartbreaking that this is still happening in my city.'
THE IVY CHELSEA GARDEN'S STATEMENT IN FULL: 'There was a situation yesterday during which a gentleman was refused entry because he was wearing non smart casual clothing. 'Unfortunately, a mistake had been made and another member of his party had earlier been allowed in wearing similar clothing. 'The dress code for our restaurant is smart casual. We are sorry that this was not made clear on our website and other channels and this ambiguity has now been rectified. 'The Ivy Chelsea Garden takes all allegations of racism extremely seriously and we will make sure that our dress code is explained to all guests so that this confusion does not happen again.'
The Ivy Chelsea Garden is located on popular King’s Road in the heart of Chelsea and describes itself as a 'relaxed yet sophisticated all-day dining restaurant'.
Comprised of a main restaurant, extensive terrace and garden, orangery and a beautiful private dining room, the Ivy Chelsea Garden says it 'offers tranquil al fresco dining all year' and is billed as 'the perfect setting for any occasion'.
Prices on the a la carte menu range from £6.50 for a soup to £29.50 for a fillet steak and £37.00 for a whole dover sole.
Earlier this month, Ray was linked to hip-hop megastar Drake.
The pair are alleged to have developed a relationship during studio sessions.
A source told The Sun that the Decline hitmaker first approached the R&B star, 31, on social media with a request to listen to her music.
The insider continued: 'He was clearly impressed by her songwriting talents and when they met to record, it quickly became obvious it wasn’t just her music he was interested in.'
Insisting that the pair are in a blossoming romance, they went on: 'It’s early days but the pair have already been out on a string of dates, with Drake taking her to his favourite restaurant, Nobu Berkeley in central London.'
'He’s got form for dating the hottest and most up-and-coming stars in the world so Raye isn’t reading too much into it, they’re just having fun at the moment.'