Man Refused Service in Cafe Because of Disfigurement

Amit Ghose, a 35-year-old man from Birmingham, says he was denied service at a London coffee shop simply because of how he looks—and the experience has left him shaken.

Ghose, who was born with Neurofibromatosis type 1—a genetic condition that can cause tumors and facial disfigurement—lost his left eye at age 11 and now wears a prosthetic. He says the discrimination he faced at the café was blatant.

“I walked in and the woman behind the counter looked at me and just said, ‘Oh, we’re not serving anymore,’” Ghose told BBC News. “Then she turned around and walked off.”

But according to Ghose, the shop was clearly still open and serving other customers. “Everyone was staring at me,” he added. “It was like they’d just seen a ghost.”

The humiliating encounter is just one example of the abuse Ghose says he regularly endures. During a recent visit to a park, strangers initially seemed curious about his appearance—then quickly turned cruel. “They started laughing and said, ‘Oh my God, if I had a face like you, I wouldn’t even come out of my house.’”

That moment, he says, pushed him to take action.

“I was really upset,” Ghose recalled. “I thought to myself, ‘I need to do something about this.’”

He decided to channel the pain into purpose. Ghose wrote a children’s book called Born Different, aiming to teach kids about kindness, self-acceptance, and the value of diversity. He also started sharing his story on TikTok, where he now has nearly 200,000 followers.

“Helping people on social media has helped me become more accepting of myself,” he said. “Now I say to the world, this is me—take it or leave it.”

When he’s not writing or inspiring others online, Ghose finds strength in cricket, a sport he credits with helping him reclaim his identity.

“Cricket helped me become Amit, the boy who plays cricket—not just Amit, the boy with a funny face,” he said.