A Posh NYC Hotel Claims Teen Sought Bizarre Revenge

As far as defamation cases go, it's a wacky one: One of Manhattan's poshest hotels has sued a 19-year-old, alleging that he repeatedly tried to use a fake ID at its bar years ago—and then came back seeking revenge. The New York Times reports that in August 2021, a then-17-year-old Theodore Weintraub repeatedly attempted to use a fake ID to buy a drink at the Mark's bar and was repeatedly turned down, per the lawsuit. After many such alleged attempts, the Upper East Side hotel says it banned the teen from the property.

All was mostly quiet after that, says the Mark, aside from one incident a few weeks later when Weintraub and his parents showed up for dinner at the hotel's restaurant; the adults were told their son had been banned, which "appeared to be news to Mr. Weintraub's parents," reports the Times. Per the suit, the teen first sought forgiveness, then started yelling; they left. Then, apparently, nothing until late June, when Weintraub and a man referred to as John Doe showed up outside the hotel with signs reading things like "The Mark Denies the Holocaust" and "The Mark Supports [Jeffrey] Epstein," according to the suit.

Patch reports that protesters who joined Weintraub allegedly told hotel staffers they were being paid $25 an hour to appear outside the hotel and chant things like "The Mark has mice." The New York Law Journal reports, via the suit, that the protests generally occurred during busy times or when "VIP guests were expected to be entering or exiting the premises"—that's said to include the rapper Drake, whose fans reportedly scuffled with John Doe after he and Weintraub allegedly tried to prevent the celeb from entering the hotel. Patch reports the hotel initially added more security personnel and curtailed its outdoor dining hours, then filed suit in July.

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The Times, for its part, sounds perplexed: "The Mark is near Mr. Weintraub's home. But beyond its proximity, it is unclear why he would decide to try to buy alcohol there, or why he would keep trying after he was repeatedly refused service." Weintraub tells the New York Post that he has been sober since January—about five months before the lawsuit says his protests began. (More strange stuff stories.)