Anthony Bourdain Slams ‘Racist’ Lawyer, Who Faces Disbarment Calls After Restaurant Rant

Following a racist rant in which a Manhattan attorney threatened to call Immigrations and Customs Enforcement on restaurant workers speaking Spanish, New Yorkers are striking back.

Lawyer Aaron Schlossberg will be dealing with the consequences of his actions for a long time: His shared office space has kicked him out, reporters are tenaciously following him for comment, and a congressman has filed a grievance against him. Even food personality Anthony Bourdain is getting in on the action, calling Schlossberg a “weasely, racist snitch bad guy” on Twitter.

The most menacing for Schlossberg is that formal grievance against him. New York Congressman Adriano Espaillat and Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. filed with the state court system’s disciplinary committee, writing in part, “We watched Aaron’s video and we were disgusted. We are filing this formal grievance to the State Grievance Committee because to affirm that such misconduct and behavior will not, and must never be tolerated.” Diaz Jr. thinks disbarment is the appropriate consequence.

Beyond the potential for work blowback, Schlossberg is currently the most publicly hated man in NYC. A huge photo of his face covered Thursday’s Daily News front page, with the headling, “Jódete, idiota,” which loosely translates to, “Fuck you, idiot.” His day on Thursday was complete with reporters from the Post and Daily News dogging him for comment, prompting him to sprint away on a couple different occasions. Coworkers have spoken out, calling him a “dope” and “crazy.”

Schlossberg was caught on camera this week railing against a restaurant employee speaking Spanish to a customer at a restaurant in Midtown East. “If you intend on running a place in Midtown Manhattan, your staff should be speaking English, not Spanish,” he says in the video. “My guess is they’re not documented, and so my next call is to ICE. I want each one of them kicked out of my country.”

• Congressman & Bronx Borough President File Grievance Against Attorney Seen In ‘Viral Racist Rant’ [Gothamist]
• Racist lawyer kicked out of his office space [NYP]
• Manhattan lawyer keeps big mouth shut when reporters confront him after racist restaurant rant goes viral [NYDN]