Joule general manager admits that doormen were enforcing a gender ratio, but says practice isn’t anti-gay
John Wright | Online Editor wright@dallasvoice.com
Gay patrons of the Joule Hotel’s PM Nightlife Lounge allege that they were discriminated against by door staff who denied them entry to the upscale downtown bar last weekend.
However, the general manager of the Joule Hotel said the gay patrons were turned away due to capacity issues and blamed the incident on a “breakdown in communication.”
The gay patrons said doormen at the PM Nightlife Lounge were enforcing a “gender ratio” on Friday night, Aug. 13 — allowing straight couples in while refusing entrance to gay men who weren’t accompanied by women.
The gay patrons said they were registered guests of a joint birthday party for three friends. One of the three hosts, all of whom are gay, said the party was booked in advance for more than 200 people.
Despite being on the guest list, gay patrons said they were made to stand outside in the searing heat as straight couples passed them by, and some eventually left without going in.
“There are very few times in life where I’ve felt like I was discriminated against. That was clearly one,” said Cordey Lash, who left after being denied entrance.
Chris Heinbaugh, the openly gay chief of staff for Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert, said he was eventually allowed in to the PM Lounge — but only after confronting the general manager, who walked by as he was waiting in line.
Heinbaugh said he spoke with the general manager, Brendan Carlin, again by phone this week.
“I’m satisfied after talking with them that they get it,” Heinbaugh said Wednesday. “They understand why this was so frustrating. At least at that upper level, they don’t want to see that happen.
“My hope is that they communicate that to the folks they have on the ground, because the actions they’re taking, whether intentional or not intentional, they have the effect of discriminating.”
In an interview with Dallas Voice on Thursday, Carlin called it “a very unfortunate incident.”
Carlin acknowledged that the door person was enforcing a gender ratio to create “an even distribution in the room” — a common practice at straight bars.
But Carlin insisted that PM Lounge staff had notified the three hosts of the party in advance that the facility could accommodate only 50 of their guests.
Carlin said the three hosts didn’t pay for the party and would have needed to buy out the nightclub, at a cost of $25,000, if they wanted to have 200 guests.
Carlin said in addition to those who were invited to the birthday party, the PM Lounge had to try to accommodate hotel guests as well as people who are on a VIP list.
“There certainly are legitimate capacity issues,” Carlin said. “It’s one of the hottest nightclubs in Dallas. It fills up every weekend. They [the gay patrons] didn’t think we were at capacity … but I was told we were at our capacity, which is 210.
“Really this was a breakdown in communication more than anything else,” Carlin added. “Certainly we had more invitations sent out than we could accommodate. We certainly don’t have the capability to accommodate what at this point in time was 282 people coming to this event.”
Asked whether there could have been anti-gay discrimination involved, Carlin said, “Absolutely not.”
“I guarantee you we have this situation every weekend with straight people who can’t get in there,” he said.
Daylon Pereira, one of the hosts of the joint birthday party, said when he arrived at about 9:30 p.m. the club was mostly empty. Soon Pereira began hearing that people were being turned away at the door.
“After well over 100 of our guests were turned away, all of whom were on the guest list given to the door men, the club was still empty and many of our friends were made to feel like second-class citizens,” Pereira said. “Had it been an issue of crowd control, I could understand, but the fact that PM was close to empty, I am having a tough time looking at this as anything but ‘gay’ control. All of my straight friends who arrived with their girlfriends were granted access with no issues. … This was such an embarrassing situation which has caused me to spend this entire week writing apologies to my friends for the rudeness they were treated with.”
LGBT legal experts say gender-based policies at bars and nightclubs are widespread but represent a gray area of the law.
Rob Wiley, a gay Dallas attorney who specializes in discrimination cases, said some courts in the U.S. have held that policies favoring one gender — such as cover charges for men but not women on “ladies night” — are a violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Wiley said he once successfully challenged a gay nightclub in New Orleans that had imposed a cover charge for women but not men. But he acknowledged that while such policies may technically be illegal, the law is rarely enforced.
“It’s not really as much about sexual orientation rights as it is gender rights, but you have this problem all over,” Wiley said. “If you are a place of public accommodation, you are not supposed to exclude people in protected classes. Unfortunately, that law which was passed in 1964, 40 some odd years later, still is not always complied with.
“Folks who are doormen at clubs ought to be trained about not discriminating against people on the basis of gender or the basis of sexual orientation, and they ought to keep their eyes open for this,” Wiley added.
Heinbaugh and Lash agreed that more training is needed. And on Thursday afternoon, Carlin reported that Lash had agreed to conduct diversity training for door staff at the PM Nightlife Lounge.
Lash also said he believes the incident serves as a reminder about the importance of — and continued need for — the gayborhood. He said he hopes someone will “step up” and open an upscale lounge that caters to the LGBT community.
“Instead of it being anti-Joule, now that I’ve had time to stop and think about this, we as a community have lost sight of why our gayborhood is there,” Lash said.
Lash, who’s worked in the hospitality industry for more than a decade and currently serves on the board of the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association, stopped short of calling for a boycott of the PM Lounge.
“It’s difficult for me to get on board with promoting something negative. However, I do 100 percent promote the Joule receiving inclusion training, and bigger than that, I promote our community looking at where we spend our money.
“I want to not boycott the Joule, but uplift those that support my community,” he said.
Lash, who currently works for the Hilton Anatole, also noted that this marked the second recent incident of alleged discrimination at a property in Dallas that’s affiliated with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide.
In July two gay patrons accused an off-duty police officer working security at the W-Dallas Victory hotel of anti-gay discrimination. An internal affairs complaint against the officer is pending.
Starwood Hotels & Resorts maintains a perfect score of 100 for gay-friendliness from the Human Rights Campaign.
Carlin said Starwood does not own or manage the Joule Hotel, but has a marketing agreement for the property.
This article appeared in the Dallas Voice print edition August 20, 2010.
Maybe they were just at their douchebag limit and couldn’t let any more in…or their $40,000 millionaire limit and there was no more room for preening posers.
Great, let them use that excuse! Then no one can complain when we use “gender ratios” as an excuse to get the straight people out of the gay bars/events – I so tired of my Saturday night at a gay club being ruined by drunken bridesmaids…
Only in TX eh !!! What the hell is wrong with TX anyway…. It just seems so behind the more enlightened states when it comes to the treatment of people who are not white and religious heterosexuals.
There’s a lot more to this issue than just trying to get into a club.
Nicely balanced article by and large. Though I’m curious about something not mintioned: Aside from protections in the 1964 Civil Rights Act, a federal statute, isn’t the non-discrimination ordinance in the City of Dallas stronger? Doesn’t it forbid discrimination in public accomodation based upon both “sex” and “sexual orientation?” What is the avenue in Big D for someone who feels they’ve been denied access based upon protected class criteria locally? And what are the penalties for violation?
It’s amazing to me how when someone from our community tries to stand up for what seems to be blatant discrimination at some of these venues that continue to do it, W, Joule, and many others they are labeled as “douchebags” and “$40k millionaires”! Discrimination does not see income nor does it see whether someone has a questionable attitude, it is plainly discrimination and it’s wrong. It’s disgusting for this community which is one of the largest and most influential LGBT communities in this country to have so many negative people against those trying to the fight the fight for all of us. I mean damn, why don’t we just all sit back and criticize each other and see how far our outreach and development programs get in this city. Both of these gentleman are leaders in this community and by-in-large, what happened at the Joule was not called for. There should not be a “quota” or “ratio” for straight to gay. If the club has 10 people in it, and 150 gays show up to spend their hard earned money (whether they have it not) then that is their perogative and business. Rather than criticize those trying to help make things right, shut the hell up and do something to help move your community forward. The negativity is sickening…
@David: No, the city of Dallas’ ordinance is by no means stronger than federal law. The only advantage the city ordinance holds over federal law is that it includes sexual orientation, whereas federal law does not. However, in this case, the issue is really gender discrimination. The city ordinance is punishable by a $500 fine per violation. However, no case has ever been prosecuted by the city attorney’s office. Unlike federal law, you cannot sue under the city ordinance, meaning you cannot recover damages. The way to file a complaint under the city ordinance is to contact the Fair Housing Office.
I probably should have said “broader” rather than “stronger.” The FW and Dallas ordinances have the same fine cap. I don’t think either has been tested yet for enforcement. Maybe it’s time. I know that in FW each person per day violated constitutes a separate violation. So, if someone who stood outside was refused entry both before and after midnight, it might very well constitute two violations. While “sex” or “gender” is the obvious violation it marks consideration that pairs of persons were admitted or refused. Men WERE admitted, so long as there was a woman on their arm. That’s where this whole argument moves into sexual orientation.
Judge Vaughn had a few interesting things to say about “sex” discrimination in his Prop 8 ruling noting that “sexual orientation” discrimination often results from the first when couples are concerned, and vice-versa. That’s intruiging since most federal rulings to date have said protections based on “sex” are not meant to include “sexual orientation.” It appears to be another wall coming down. Hope some folks in Dallas test the ordinance. Other businesses will pay attention.
I agree John. This seems more like gender discrimination than sexual orientation but you may never know. But let’s just assume that it is bias based on gender, do we really wanna go down that road? Do you wanna enforce that clubs stop Ladies Nights at their establishment knowing that if they didn’t offer free cover to ladies, the place would be a complete sausage fest? Probably would not be good for their business. Do you want lawsuits brought against gay bars in Cedar Springs b/c some of the staff have a tendency to ID/deny entry to opposite gender patrons more than others?
this is news?! who cares if this douchebag doesnt get in to a bar? see you at Zipperz sweetheart
Any idiot can be a door man. With so many people needing work why would you have such ignorant people on your payroll.
MarkBoston,
Prejudice thinking and behavior like that from the door man and you is harmful no matter where it occurs. Your negativity and uneducated mindset is unlike my friends and acquaintances living in Boston.
Citizen,
love the uneducated dig at me ..You don’t even know me… If I have any fault it is that I am perhaps overly educated holding two degrees one for Harvard and the other from MIT. I am pretty sure I have the education part covered
Not only in Texas but other places as well. My partner of twelve years and I were overtly denied service at a Landry’s Seafood Restaurant in Lafayette Louisiana. We were behaving properly and were dressed properly. People being seated after us were being waited on and we are not. It was so overtly obvious. We will never eat at a Landry’s again.
Here we go again!!! If anyone has been following this “group” and they know who they are, I think we have a common denominator. This is another extension from the W Hotel incident, and now they’ve been wronged at the Joule!!! I find it funny that this relentless self promoter who feels he is an entitled VIP for whatever reason, and might I ad of whom gives absolutely nothing to the top 4 LGBT organization’s in Dallas, and yes I do know!! Hey “Prominent Dallas Businessmen” the W was on lock-down because GaGa was staying the night, and the Joule has every right to discriminate who is allowed entry, its working the whole “exclusive” nightclub thing…. Otherwise, you would have a room full of undesirables and it would then NOT then be the “hottest” club in town, and yes I know the whole birthday party story, better party planning guys/gays, get it together. Check out the dude in the pic, I wouldn’t let a screaming queen in a lime green fedora with his manicured lee press on, 6 ft and a whopping 135lbs, telling me what’s what. And yes, I’m gay and did get in. Apparently 3 min after you didn’t, I’ve never had a problem getting into PM Lounge. Just sayin!!
Those pictures of the two guys above are really cheesy. They look like used car salesmen!
Im sure the birthday party goers would have had more fun at, Tin Room or Jacks Back Yard
I find it rather amusing that the Dallas gay community expects and demands that everyone accepts them but they cannot accept one another. Dallas is infamous for its “Dalitude”. Just go and visit any bar, gay church, or organization in Dallas and see how cliquey and unaccepting they are of outsiders and newcomers.
No one knows the person using the name MarkBoston or where he actually lives but we know his prejudices and education retention by his actions and behavior.
@Chris – LOL! Thank you soo much for your VERY kind (although 45lbs off) assessment of me being 135 pounds…please remind me to pay your $20 when I see you! Clearly as far as donating to the top 4 LGBT organizations in Dallas, that was geared towards someone other than I… Thanks for all of the feedback, whether kind, constructive, malicious or questioning.
A customer gives a guest list with 282 names to a door man at 9:30 PM on a Friday night after being told by a manager days before that only 50 can be guaranteed admittance unless the entire club is rented for $25,000. Zero dollars were paid and the club was not rented for the private party. The club, which by fire code has a 210 capacity, did not seem crowded at 9:30 PM to the customer and he expected all 282 to be admitted. Now he claims that the 232 of his friends were victims of discrimination and made to feel like second class citizens because the door man choose other customers from the waiting line.
The hosts are responsible for making 232 people feel like second class friends.
Diversity training, logic, common sense, social and behavior skills need to be taught not only to the door man but to the hosts of the party.
Many of the gay clubs also discriminate on who they want in and who they don’t. Yes, it is wrong, but it does happen. I see both sides, an owner of a business should have the right to decided who he wants to do business with, and yes, discrimination may be involved, which is wrong. But it is a reality of life. So, if a business does not want your business, move on and do business with someone who wants your business or sue if you have a legal right , simple.
I agree with Martin. Although it sounds like the Log Cabin Dals got hit back with their own Dal- attitudes, after dishing it out for so many years.
How many gay guys were robbed or assaulted in Oak Lawn that nite? Maybe THAT is where the Mayor’s Chief of Staff’s outrage should be directed, rather than being DELAYED entry to a straight bar that was overcapacity (he was eventually let in).
Since when do us gay people discriminate who comes into our clubs? like someone said earlier, many straight people come in, whether its a big group of girls in the mens club or other way around. But there are tons who come in and there is no problem with it. There are very much cliqs and discrimination but thats straight or gay.. just people in general with race, weight, height, anything.
@ Libby, in answer to the question “Since when to us gay people discriminate who comes into our clubs?’ probably every since there have been Gay clubs. If you’ve never experienced it, good for you, or maybe too bad for you since you can’t relate to it. I’ve experienced it. Many, many times in the 35 years I have been an openly gay member of the Dallas gay community. Recently too. I suppose you are also unfamiliar with the discrimination transsexuals, drag queens, what ever you want to call them, experienced at the Crews Inn not too long ago. Google it. There was a boycott, a lawsuit also. I always found it hard to understand how gay people could discriminate, but they do, and are probably one of the worst unfortunately. Don’t stand for it, I say.
Sounds like hotel/bar management was remiss for NOT mentioning the capacity limits to the patron who “booked” the b/day party in the first place. It IS reasonable that they bar could not allow the b/day party to significantly impact their normal, nightly operations.
Kind of sounds like a “he said, he said” situation, with respect to the observed number of patrons in the bar when the “wronged” people were denied entrance.
NEXT TIME . . . shop for a better place to have the party–period! 200+ people??? DANG!!! Perhaps there’s some place, less trendy, that could welcome such an influx of patrons!