Yes, A ‘Southern Charm’ Thomas Ravenel-Free Zone Map Of Charleston Does Exist
Southern Charm Season 6 will debut next month, but while Thomas Ravenel, one of the original cast members, won’t be returning to the cast, his specter is still haunting the remaining Charmers, and even perhaps the city of Charleston, South Carolina, where several bars and restaurant owners have banned him from their establishments, even creating a map called T-Rav Safe Zones, where the former reality star isn’t welcome after a series of alleged outbursts.
Cheat Sheet reports that Ravenel’s ban from certain places around Charleston has been around since before the Bravo network came to town, just before his arrest on federal charges for cocaine possession and distribution. The original post was created by a restaurant owner who was feuding with Ravenel in real life and on social media and wanted other Charleston locals to know where they could go without the drama.
The origin of the T-Rav (Ravenel’s, 56, given nickname) Safe Zones seems to have started approximately 13 years ago when he was the treasurer for the state of South Carolina for seven months. Craig Nelson, owner of Proof, on King Street in Charleston, said that Ravenel came in for dinner with friends and got loud.
“Thomas and a friend were at the bar and they were inebriated and loud. In the middle of dinner, Thomas walks up to our table and says he’s going to beat my a**.”
#DEVELOPING: Charleston Co. jail records show Thomas Ravenel has been booked this morning for assault and battery charges. pic.twitter.com/9eK8iLvPQ2
— Shelby Heary-Millner (@shelby_heary) September 25, 2018
Nelson says that Ravenel made such a scene that the other patrons applauded when he and his friends finally walked out.
“It was so bizarre. My wife and I knew him from working in F & B, but we weren’t hugely fond of him.”
Soon after, the couple opened up a new restaurant in the city, and when the former Bravo star tried to enter, he was told by the restaurant’s ownership that he wasn’t welcome. Word-of-mouth led to Ravenel being barred from other establishments, including Fallert, Mink, and Leboutillier operated Poe’s, Monza, and Taco Boy under REV Foods. This is what started the map, so that people knew where they could enjoy a quiet evening.
In 2017, when Ravenel was still on Southern Charm, he approached Nelson about dropping the ban, lecturing him on forgiveness.
“Thomas said, ‘Hey, can we talk privately.’ Thomas proceeded to tell me that I need to be forgiving. I told him, ‘I forgive you, but I’m never gonna like you.’ Then Thomas says, ‘I’m gonna explain to you about forgiveness’ and that’s when I said ‘Get the f**k out of my bar.'”
But that angered Ravenel, and he exploded on social media, calling Nelson names, and insulting his physical appearance.
“One day I’m going to teach this boy a lesson. Ah, but I won’t. Zero competition.”
Yea, someone created a map showing where Thomas Ravenel was supposedly banned from: https://t.co/mFg221gx9I
— Holy City Sinner (@HolyCitySinner) May 2, 2017
Fans of the show have seen Ravenel’s tirades on Southern Charm and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. On his last season of the Bravo series, Ravenel lost his temper with a member of the cast, Chelsea Meissner, scaring her, and alarming the rest of the cast, according to The Inquisitr.
Meissner had explained to Ravenel that after insulting her friend, Kathryn Dennis, his plus one for the evening was not welcome back at the vacation home after berating Dennis, and the former politician got close to Meissner’s face and screamed at her. Ravenel’s date, whom Vulture called a “Molotov cocktail of want,” sat smugly on the ferry, giggling.
But this wasn’t the first time that fans of Southern Charm had seen Ravenel and a cast member nearly come to fisticuffs after a dinner party broke down, sending guests fleeing from his home into the street. Like the lecture that Nelson described at his restaurant, Ravenel had gone around the table, roasting Cameran Eubanks, Shep Rose, and Craig Conover, who all got up and left, narrowly escaping the ex-politician who chased after them.
Thomas Ravenel will not be on Southern Charm this season after he was arrested in September on charges that he sexually assaulted the family nanny. He is also embroiled in a custody battle which will be mentioned on the upcoming season of the show.
