The owners of Pink Pony, a new gay nightclub in Sydney, have apologized and vowed to change the club’s name following backlash from the local LGBTQ community.
Kevin Du-Val and Michael Lewis — the owner and manager of the popular gay club Palms — had planned to open their new multi-level venue on Oxford Street, the main drag in Darlinghurst known for its vibrant LGBTQ nightlife, in early December.
But the club’s name — which the owners said in a since-deleted social media post was “unashamedly inspired by its namesake song that resonates so profoundly within our community,” referring to lesbian singer Chappell Roan’s hit “Pink Pony Club” — sparked controversy after they described the type of patrons they hoped to attract, seemingly at the expense of others, according to 9News.
“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,” Du-Val and Lewis wrote in the now-deleted post.
Speaking with Gay Sydney News, Lewis said women would be welcome at the club, but added that “our desire is that [the crowd] is predominantly gay boys, and when I say predominantly, I’m sort of talking 90 percent plus.”
“Obviously, we’ve got legal hurdles…in terms of how much we can vet the crowd while still complying with the law,” he added, referring to Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act, which prohibits exclusion based on gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation.
The Australian Human Rights Commission can grant temporary exemptions to the law, but it’s unclear whether the club would qualify.
The club owners were quickly roasted on social media over Pink Pony’s name and proposed door policy, with many calling it ironic and accusing the pair of being exclusionary.
“Appropriating lesbian culture for your own money/benefit for gay men,” wrote Heaps Gay, a queer events organizer, in response to the club owners’ post. “This had the potential to be so great for our community and for Oxford Street. Sad.”
Heaps Gay later addressed the controversy in its own Facebook post, calling the situation “disappointing” and labeling the Pink Pony owners “tone deaf.”
“Imagine calling it Pink pony club when the song clearly says ‘where boys and girls can all be queens every single day.’ They’ve really not read the room on this one,” one user responded.
“Gay guy misogyny is a helluva drug,” another user wrote in response to Heaps Gay.
Commenters on the owners’ since-deleted post were equally critical.
“So it’s gay men only, but the name of the club is a song by a female lesbian pop star? Oh, I fear they missed the mark with this one,” a user wrote.
“Why would you name a club after a hit song by a lesbian pop star, and it’s not a lesbian bar?” another user wrote.
This week, Du-Val and Lewis changed their social media handle to “new name coming soon” and posted an apology on the club’s Instagram page.
“Firstly we would like to sincerely apologise for any hurt or offense we have caused members of our extended LGBQTI+ family with the announcement of our upcoming project,” the post reads. “In hindsight, our communication was clumsy and very poorly worded. Clearly the choice of ‘Pink Pony’ as a name was also an error of judgement given Chappell Roan’s well deserved reverence with queer Women…. [W]e are sorry.”
The post reiterated that all members of the queer community will be welcome at the yet-to-be-named club. It emphasized that there was never an intention to impose a door policy excluding any group.
“In hindsight we can see how our nomination of a preferred mix was tone deaf and hurtful and once again we sincerely apologise,” the post concludes. “At the end of the day the vibe of venue and the music and those it resonates with will dictate the crowd. Everyone is just looking to find their tribe and a place to belong.”
Harvard University has drawn criticism from conservatives after announcing that Tufts professor Kareem Khubchandani -- who performs and occasionally lectures in drag as "LaWhore Vagistan" -- will serve as a visiting associate professor in its Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality department.
The visiting professorship was established through an endowment from members of the Harvard Gender & Sexuality Caucus, the university's LGBTQ alumni group. It was created to bring in scholars focused on issues related to sexual minorities and sexuality.
Khubchandani is scheduled to teach two courses during the 2025-2026 academic year: "Queer Ethnography," in the fall semester, and "RuPaulitics: Drag, Race, and Desire" in the spring semester, focusing on the cultural influence of the show RuPaul's Drag Race.
A new survey finds that many LGBTQ Americans -- especially transgender and nonbinary people -- have altered their lives in response to a wave of anti-LGBTQ laws and rhetoric sweeping the country, with many reporting serious harm to their mental health and overall wellbeing.
Conducted from May 29 to June 13 by NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel for the Movement Advancement Project, the online survey polled 1,055 LGBTQ adults nationwide, including 111 who identified as transgender or nonbinary.
Operated by NORC at the University of Chicago, AmeriSpeak is a probability-based panel designed to reflect the U.S. household population. Randomly selected households are contacted through mail, email, phone, or in-person interviews.
More than 9 in 10 LGBTQ adults are out to someone in their lives about their sexual orientation or gender identity -- yet many remain closeted when it comes to family members or co-workers.
According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in January, 96% of LGBTQ adults say they have told someone about their identity, while only 3% say they have not come out to anyone. However, up to one-third of LGBTQ adults -- including those who have come out to “someone” -- say they are not out to extended family members, such as grandparents, aunts and uncles, or cousins.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
You must be logged in to post a comment.