{"id":1448,"date":"2026-06-13T17:05:04","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T17:05:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448"},"modified":"2026-06-13T17:05:04","modified_gmt":"2026-06-13T17:05:04","slug":"black-food-critic-sues-s-c-eatery-after-he-was-assaulted-ejected-suit-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448","title":{"rendered":"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted &#038; ejected, suit says"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>A Black food critic and social media personality in South Carolina has sued a Florence restaurant after a viral video showed the critic being accosted and ejected from the establishment.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1446\">Full tilt: Bang Back gets closer to opening in Columbia\u2019s former Rockaway space<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In lawsuit filed Friday against Percy &amp; Willie\u2019s, Trayvon Turner \u2014 who, online, goes by Ben-a-Critic \u2014 accused its owners and managers of physically ejecting him for recording a review, calling police with a false claim that he assaulted an owner, and blocking his car in the parking lot to keep him from leaving.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an episode that, he says, ignited a wave of online attention, threats and lost work.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The defendants include Neel Lands, LLC, which does business as Percy and Willie\u2019s Food &amp; Spirits, as well as several individuals: William Hal Neel III (named as an owner), Jeffrey Chamblee (operating partner), Andrew Davis (general manager) and Tracy Counts (service manager).<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<section> @benacritic \ud83d\uddde\ufe0fPress Conference\ud83d\udc68\u200d\u2696\ufe0f\ud83d\udcbc Ben A Critic is Suing Percy &amp; Willies From The Viral Incident That Occurred On Last Month. Please keep him in your prayers \ud83d\ude4c\ud83c\udffd #foodcritic #benacritic #percyandwillies \u266c original sound &#8211; Ben-a-Critic | Woosah <\/section>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The State attempted to contact Neel and Chamblee in response to the suit, but has not yet received a response.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The suit demands a jury trial and seeks actual and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>\u2018No recording policy,\u2019 then a confrontation<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Turner visited on May 3 and was \u201cgreeted cordially\u201d by staff as he filmed his experience, a practice he calls common among critics and diners, according to the suit.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After he ordered and waited for his food, the complaint says, a manager approached and asked him to walk to the front of the restaurant, where he was told he had to leave because video recording was not allowed.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Turner asked why he wasn\u2019t simply asked to stop recording, the suit says, and a \u201cheated verbal exchange\u201d followed.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1445\">\u2018Illegal\u2019 psychedelic mushroom mini-farm found in home\u2019s closet, NC sheriff says<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<div>\n<blockquote>\n<section> @benacritic \ud83e\udd2f\ud83c\udf7d\ufe0fPercy &amp; Willie\u2019s\ud83d\udccdFlorence , SC #foodcritic #foodreview #foodie #fyp \u266c original sound &#8211; Ben-a-Critic | Woosah <\/section>\n<\/blockquote><\/div>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The complaint claims the no recording policy was pretextual and that the real motivation was \u201cat least in part\u201d Turner\u2019s race, alleging that the restaurant applied its purported rule in a discriminatory manner.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Physical removal and a false report to police<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The suit says Neel used his \u201cchest and body\u201d to push and press Turner out of the restaurant, making unwanted physical contact while Turner repeatedly demanded he stop.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It further alleges that Neel then called law enforcement and falsely reported that Turner struck him in the face \u2014 a claim the complaint says is \u201cdirectly contradicted\u201d by video Turner captured.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Police responded, but no arrest was made and no charges were filed, according to the complaint.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>After his removal, Turner says, Chamblee positioned himself around Turner\u2019s vehicle, blocking it to prevent him from leaving until officers arrived \u2014 conduct the suit characterizes as intentional restraint without legal authority.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Claims: assault, battery, defamation and false imprisonment<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The complaint asserts multiple causes of action, including assault, battery, defamation, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and negligence-related claims including negligent supervision and negligent training.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Turner says that after he posted the video publicly, the incident spread across social and news media, and he received death threats, suffered severe emotional distress and was unable to work for weeks, causing economic losses and reputational harm.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The case was filed by attorney Carles\u2019 Anderson of the Anastopoulo Law Firm, according to court documents.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1443\">Where SC gov hopefuls did well, who supported them. Who are they after in runoff<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ben-a-Critic, a Black food critic and social media influencer, is suing Percy &amp; Willies after a viral video showed the man being ejected from eatery for recording.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1447,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1448","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted &amp; ejected, suit says - US Moving Experts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted &amp; ejected, suit says - US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ben-a-Critic, a Black food critic and social media influencer, is suing Percy &amp; Willies after a viral video showed the man being ejected from eatery for recording.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"US Moving Experts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-13T17:05:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\"},\"headline\":\"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted &#038; ejected, suit says\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T17:05:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448\"},\"wordCount\":626,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/683c4828f008ee22deb191cd53e9f583.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448\",\"name\":\"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted & ejected, suit says - US Moving Experts\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/683c4828f008ee22deb191cd53e9f583.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-13T17:05:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/683c4828f008ee22deb191cd53e9f583.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/683c4828f008ee22deb191cd53e9f583.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?p=1448#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted &#038; ejected, suit says\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"US Moving Experts\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/usmovingexpertss.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted & ejected, suit says - US Moving Experts","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted & ejected, suit says - US Moving Experts","og_description":"Ben-a-Critic, a Black food critic and social media influencer, is suing Percy &amp; Willies after a viral video showed the man being ejected from eatery for recording.","og_url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448","og_site_name":"US Moving Experts","article_published_time":"2026-06-13T17:05:04+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6"},"headline":"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted &#038; ejected, suit says","datePublished":"2026-06-13T17:05:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448"},"wordCount":626,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/683c4828f008ee22deb191cd53e9f583.png","articleSection":["Interesting"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448","name":"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted & ejected, suit says - US Moving Experts","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/683c4828f008ee22deb191cd53e9f583.png","datePublished":"2026-06-13T17:05:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/683c4828f008ee22deb191cd53e9f583.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/683c4828f008ee22deb191cd53e9f583.png","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?p=1448#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Black food critic sues S.C. eatery after he was assaulted &#038; ejected, suit says"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/","name":"US Moving Experts","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d4595f9a47af262eb0de41137cae39b6","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com"],"url":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usmovingexpertss.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}