A Sydney nightclub whose name was inspired by a lesbian artist despite “predominantly” targeting gay men has been forced to change its name after attracting a swift and “passionate” backlash.
Pink Pony was set to open on Oxford Street in Sydney’s LGBTQ+ heartland in early December. Kevin Du-Val, the owner of Palms on Oxford nightclub, and its manager, Michael Lewis, announced via social media their new venture was “unashamedly inspired by its namesake song that resonates so profoundly within our community”.
Pink Pony Club is a song by lesbian singer-songwriter, Chappell Roan, who said she co-wrote the piece after visiting The Abbey gay bar in West Hollywood, which welcomes all genders and sexual orientations.
But news of the Sydney club was met with criticism when it emerged its “preferred clientele” was young gay men.
“In line with our experience and our passion PINK PONY is being created specifically for 18-35 (state of mind) Gay men who love to dance and get sweaty to high powered dance music in a safe space that is theirs to enjoy,” the club’s operators said via social media.
Lewis told Gay Sydney News on Sunday – which reported that Du-Val is aged 80 – that “girls will be welcome, but it would certainly be our desire that it is predominantly gay boys, and when I say predominantly, I’m sort of talking 90% plus”.
“Obviously we’ve got legal hurdles … in terms of how much we can vet the crowd while still complying with the law,” he said.
I can’t place why that last bit feels so much like the quiet part being said out loud and they’d really rather not comply with the law if they could get away with it. But they’re going with a different name now, as if that’ll make any difference:
Lewis confirmed the venue’s name was to be changed.
“We acknowledge and respect the very passionate feedback from the wider community and it is clear that it’s best to move forward with a different name for the new venue,” he told Guardian Australia.
That development, too, was criticised, with one Instagram user summing up the mood: “lol imagine renaming ur club instead of being more inclusive.”
Yeah. I mean, I can understand the queer community wanting queer clubs with as few as possible non-queer people in attendance; everyone wants a safe space where they can be, you know, themselves and not get harrassed, and Lewis says in that other article that he gets a lot of feedback from gay dudes about Oxford Street being less “gay” than it used to be, it’s pitched more at straight folks so the queer crowd don’t come out (as it were) so much, and I understand clubs etc having a target crowd and all that… but I think it might have been a bit foolish to have invoked “legal hurdles” like that, it’s like saying you’ll accept people other than 18-35 gay boys but only grudgingly and you won’t make them feel welcome. I have a feeling the erstwhile PPC won’t last long under its new name either…
