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Photo: DADO RUVIC / REUTERS
"That's not okay at all": In a TikTok video, an American drew attention to an Airbnb ad that offered a "slave hut from the 1830s".
His protest was successful: the brokerage platform for vacation rentals has meanwhile removed the offer from its website – and, according to media reports, has asked for an apology.
At the end of last week, lawyer Wynton Yates published a clip on the video portal Tiktok in which he criticized the "Panther Burn Cottage on Belmont Plantation in Greenville, Mississippi" being rented out to tourists.
"How can anyone think it's okay to rent out a place where people were kept as slaves as a bed and breakfast?" he asked.
He was also upset about the ratings.
"What a wonderful place to soak up history, experience Southern hospitality, and spend a night or two!" he quoted one guest as saying.
"The history of slavery in this country is constantly being denied," Yates continued.
"And now it's being taunted by being transformed into a luxurious vacation spot." The video has since been viewed 2.6 million times as of Wednesday afternoon.
Airbnb responded with a message to the video, from which CNN quoted, among other things: "Property that used to house slaves has no place on Airbnb." The offer was removed – and more are apparently to follow: "We apologize for any trauma or suffering caused by the presence of this and similar offerings and for our failure to act sooner to address this issue.”
The owner of the “Panther Burn Cottage” also spoke to CNN, among others.
He has only owned the building for three weeks, but apologizes for his decision to "offer our guests a stay in the 'slave quarters' behind the antebellum house, built in 1857 and now a bed and breakfast."
And further: "I also apologize for insulting African Americans whose ancestors were slaves."
He said he was in the process of finding experts who could help him identify people who lived on Belmont Plantation and were enslaved in order to provide an accurate account of history.
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