GACKT experienced racism at French hotel

*THE SYNDICATE DOES NOT EXIST*

On March 30, GACKT faced racist treatment of Asians while staying in a hotel in Paris.

Gackt wrote a blog post about his recent time in Paris, France. During his trip, he stayed at a hotel near the Charle de Gaulle Airport. After spending the night at the hotel, he went the hotel's buffet for breakfast.

When he arrived at the buffet, GACKT was the only person there. He sat at a table near the entrance in order to see the scenery outside. A waiter pointed to a table in the back was told he had to sit there. GACKT complied, believing that the seats in the front were off limits and enjoyed his food in peace.

While eating, a group of white guests came into the buffet. The group sat at the table GACKT had first sat at. More white guests entered and were allowed to sit near the front. Later, a group of Asian guests entered the buffet and were made to sit in the back of the room like GACKT. More and more Asian guests came in for breakfast, and all of them were ordered to eat in the back.

"The seats were full. There wasn't space to sit [in the back] even if you shared tables. Then, more Asian people entered the buffet. Of course, the area I was sitting in was packed. When they tried to sit in the seats near the entrance, the staff gave them the same directions as usual," GACKT said.

GACKT stated that he felt like the staff was blatantly discriminating against the hotel's Asian guests. Discrimination against Asians is something the singer faces all too often when traveling abroad.

"A long time ago, when there were things like apartheid in South Africa and slavery in the US, there were many bars and stores black people couldn't enter. Buses and trains would have empty seats in the white people section while the black people section was crammed full. I've seen the images many times in movies, and of course I had knowledge of it...I never expected to receive such blatant discrimination myself," he said.

GACKT shared his experience with racism in an attempt to educate people on the ongoing issue. "It's a difficult problem to fix, but in the end, if we don't raise the level of education, we won't solve it," he said.