'Slave cabin' Airbnb in Mississippi removed after viral TikTok calls it racist

The American lawyer took to TikTok to slam an Airbnb cabin for romanticising slavery. Photo / TikTok, Google Maps

Airbnb removed a listing in Mississippi after a viral TikTok video revealed it was advertised as a "slave cabin" which gave guests a "historically accurate portrayal of life".

The listing for Panther Burn Cottage at the Belmont Plantation in Greenville, Mississippi, claimed to be where enslaved people in the US once lived.

It was slammed in a TikTok video created by Wynton Yates, a black lawyer from New Orleans.

"How is this okay in somebody's mind to rent this out?" Yates said. "A place where human beings were kept as slaves, rent this out as a bed and breakfast?"

Yates shared screenshots of the listing, which showed a small wood cabin with a bedroom and bathroom next to a massive main house on the estate.

On Airbnb, the cabin was described as "an 1830s slave cabin from the extant Panther Burn Plantation to the south of Belmont".

"It has also been used as a tenant sharecroppers cabin and a medical office for local farmers and their families to visit the plantation doctor."

In his video, which has gained 2.6 million views, Yates said the host didn't recognise how insensitive the cabin's listing was.

"Maybe you're thinking, 'Okay maybe this will give people insight into how enslaved people had to live, their living conditions.' No, not at all. Clawfoot tub, running water, tile, nice lighting fixtures, water, towels, dresser," he said.

"The history of slavery in this country is constantly denied and now it's being mocked by being turned into a luxurious vacation spot."

The listing, which had 68 reviews and a high rating of 4.97 according to Yates' screenshot, has since been removed by Airbnb.

Brad Hauser became the owner of the property three weeks ago and claimed it was the previous owner who advertised it as a slave cabin.

In a statement to NBC news, he apologised for any insult caused

"I apologize for the decision to provide our guests a stay at 'the slave quarters' behind the 1857 antebellum home that is now a bed and breakfast," he said. "I also apologize for insulting African Americans whose ancestors were slaves."

However, Hauser said the cottage was not actually part of the original plantation and the previous owner said it had been a doctor's office.

According to Yates, this only made the situation worse.

"If this was actually not a slave cabin, that does not make it better in any way because it is the further romanticizing of slavery. That makes this even more horrendous that you think slavery is a selling point," Yates told NBC.

He said companies like Airbnb needed better policies to avoid these issues in the first place.

"Properties that formerly housed the enslaved have no place on Airbnb," the company said in a statement.

"We apologize for any trauma or grief created by the presence of this listing, and others like it, and that we did not act sooner to address this issue."

Airbnb also said they were working with experts to develop new policies to deal with similar properties