A gay couple in Cardiff have claimed that they were thrown out of the DC nightclub after security staff saw them kissing. In response the club's owner Richard Jackson outs a third of his staff in the national press in an attempt to show that bigots do not run the venue.
Oliver Brown, 21, and Hugh Squire have reported that they were subjected to homophobic remarks by bouncers and accuse the nightclub management of throwing them out after they were spotted kissing at the establishment during an office party in December.
According to the Daily Mail, the club faces closure following the claims by the couple.
Oliver Brown, a student at Cardiff Metropolitan University, said:
"I believe we have been targeted because we are gay.
"If the bouncer had said he was kicking us out because we were fighting I wouldn't have a problem with that.
"But he saw us kissing so it was clear that was his problem, it wasn't anything we had done."
In response to the claims and according to the DM the owner Richard Jackson said about a third of his staff are lesbian and gay and refuted the allegations. He said the club’s gay manager warned the couple about their rowdy behaviour.
He said: "I can assure you all they were asked to leave due to rowdy behaviour. They were asked to leave because they were either spraying drinks into the staff.
"When security came over and asked them to leave that's when they started hugging and kissing and saying, 'Oh, you're only throwing us out because we're gay',
"My gay staff and friends are furious about this"
"We operate a zero-tolerance attitude towards any kind of discrimination.
"It wasn't too long ago that Tom Daley and his partner came in with many of my gay friends - to say we are homophobic is a lie."
Jake Hook editor of TheGayUK remarked:
"Outing staff to prove whether a company operates a zero tolerance on discrimination not an appropriate way of showing acceptance for LGBT customers. Employee's personal and private lives should never be traded as means to elicit good will. Staff sexuality should have no bearing on whether motives of removal were homophobic or bigoted and does not prove any policy."
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