Ghost fans forced to remove face paint at St. Louis show, venue apologizes

Ghost and Amon Amarth performed on tour at Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre on Friday, August 11 in St. Louis, MO, and many fans arrived only to realize they were in violation of the venue's face paint policy. The Hollywood Casino Amp's pre-show online policy announcement clearly stated that face paint wasn't allowed, but many attendees missed this, arriving fully painted. Consequently, they were denied entry or told to remove it by venue staff with fans reporting general confusion from staff about what was and was not ok. 

The venue apologized the next day, clarifying Ghost wasn't behind the decision and labeled the situation as a "miscommunication." Attendees facing problems were urged to contact the venue by email to resolve any complaints. The venue is no doubt getting a lot of strongly worded letters today.

The band posted a message to their Facebook page, along with the venues statement. Ghost's statement read: 

"[MESSAGE FROM THE CLERGY]
We wish to inform you that we will ALWAYS encourage creative expression, we will NEVER stifle it."

The venue's statement read:

"Thanks to everyone who joined us for an amazing Ghost show last night. On behalf of our crew, we'd like to apologize for a miscommunication about removing face paint. This was not directed by Ghost. If you experienced issues at last night's show, pelase reach out to us at hollywoodampstl@livenation.com so we can improve for future shows."

The original policy that was posted online:

"Face paint or masks covering the face are NOT allowed while entering the venue or purchasing items at concessions. Any face coverings must be removable on request."