CAPE CORAL, Fla. (WFLA/NBC) — A transgender woman in Florida said she was kicked out of a nightclub after she used the women’s restroom, according to a report by NBC affiliate WBBH.
Piper Ayers said she was with some friends, who were also trans, at the Dixie Roadhouse Friday.
Right on the front of the nightclub’s entrance, there’s a sign that says, “if you are racist, sexist, homophobic, or just a jerk… don’t come in.”
However, despite the seemingly inclusive sign, that didn’t stop Ayers and her friends from getting into a conflict with the nightclub’s security when they told Ayers she used the wrong bathroom.
“I felt… worthless, like I wasn’t a person,” Ayers told WBBH.
Ayers and a man who accompanied her tried to explained to security that she was a trans woman and was correct in using the women’s restroom. However, they responded that they don’t allow men in there.
“So we went and talked to the manager, and the only thing he could say is what it says on your ID,” Ayers said.
Ayers had not legally changed her legal name and gender at the time. Sean Kelliher, who had just met Ayers, also tried to explain that she was trans woman, not a man playing dress up.
“This is a woman, a trans woman, and you need to understand what that is,” Kellier told security guards, according to the WBBH report. “This is not a drag queen or a cross-dresser. This is a trans girl, and you need to treat her as a lady,”
Despite the multiple people vouching for Ayers, security refused to listen.
“The next thing you know, they grab a hold of me and start shoving me out the front door,” Ayers said.
WBBH spoke to the management of the Dixie Roadhouse multiple times, but they would not comment on the situation.
