Though times have changed, those in the LGBTQ+ community are still faced with endless discrimination. Recently, a trans woman who goes by Deeps Kumar or @umploops on Twitter shared her unfortunate experience of being denied entry into Madras Club at Jalan Telawi in Kuala Lumpur.
“My friends and I got denied entry into the premises today bc they “don’t allow transgender people in [their] premises,” she tweeted. According to the post, they had reservations at the nightclub and were about to order their drinks when they were allegedly told to leave. Here’s the full story:
The queer individual posted her Google review to further explain what happened. In the review, the Twitter user claimed that the club does not allow transgender people in the venue and when asked for an explanation, the staff answered that they were simply following orders from management. The netizen’s (presumably) cisgender friend, who was waiting for them inside at the time, also wrote a review and accused the establishment of being transphobic.
After the tweets went viral, Madras Club responded to the allegations in an Instagram Story. The nightclub apologised to Deeps Kumar for the unpleasant experience and clarified that the trans individuals were denied entry on the grounds that the establishment does not have unisex restrooms. The live music venue also wrote that they were open to changing their policy.
“We have faced past incidents on Toilet sharing that resulted in such a decision. However, we are open to change. We will decide based on the general acceptance of the lady’s toilets being shared,” the club wrote before posting a poll for netizens to vote if they were fine with sharing the restrooms with transgender people. The premise’s solution to the problem, however, was not well received by netizens.
In the screenshots below, many felt that Madras was avoiding the issue by passing the burden onto other women on Instagram. Others felt that the poll was an easy way to attract bigots in agreeing with their alleged transphobia. A netizen shared the results (as seen above) to show that 76% of people were okay with sharing the restrooms with transgender people. However, the establishment was said to have deleted the poll before it expired.
At the time of writing, Madras Club has yet to release an update regarding the deleted poll and if there will be a change to their policy based on the results of the poll. As for Deeps Kumar, she thanked everyone for their kind words and support after the incident.
Source: Twitter
