Rock star righteousness can get quite sticky at times. On Monday, the musical Che Guevara aka Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave guitarist Tom Morello slammed The 5 Point Cafe in Seattle for allegedly being “antiworker” and having a “super-rude staff” after reportedly being denied entry to the restaurant over the weekend. But after a rebuttal from the owner of the establishment, Morello backpedaled a bit while clarifying his story, resulting in a less-than-revolutionary moment in the rocker’s efforts to turn the moment into a talking point for the #15Now minimum wage debate.
After a benefit-show performance in Seattle which saw the guitarist reunite with former Audioslave bandmate Chris Cornell, Morello and his entourage allegedly tried to arrange a private room at The 5 Point. The place was reportedly at capacity and there was a line of people outside waiting to get in, and the restaurant’s doorman allegedly told Morello and his crew that he could not accommodate them. Irritated by the treatment, Tom took to his Twitter to put the spot on blast (the tweets have since been deleted).
Morello saw widespread initial support for his complaints on Twitter, until David Meiner, the owner of 5 Points replied in an open letter on Facebook, outlining the activist’s perceived ignorance.
“I have to say, your attacking a small business without knowing anything about it, or addressing your problem with them directly before you go on a public rant, pretty much sucks,” Meiner lamented. “Just lost a ton of respect for you, and I’ve been a fan for years, both of your work in Rage and your work for workers rights since.”
Shortly afterward, Morello released a lengthy Facebook statement in which he offered his version of the events of the evening, including a response to accusations that he requested “special treatment” at The 5 Point Cafe.
“It was like a hipster version of a Studio 54 doorman,” Morello mused. “At that point my band mate made a flavorful declaration and we decamped to the trusty, attitude free, IHOP where we enjoyed a drama free stack of hotcakes.”
He concluded the thoughtful message with an attempt at some good humor: “Next time we’ll call ahead.”
