MAGA Gays Say Denver Gay Bar Discriminated Against Them
The gay bar Buddies was dragged by trolls after conservative gays claimed they were unfairly charged a cover to enter.
A Denver gay bar had its Yelp page flooded with bad reviews after three Republican gay men accused the establishment of discriminating against them due to political beliefs.
TikTok user @5280basedhomo, whose real name is Rich Guggenheim, posted a video claiming that he and two other gay conservatives — Chris (“TheMidwestHomo”) and Valdamar Archuleta, the Republican nominee in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Denver — tried to enter “Buddies” on Saturday afternoon, October 5.
Guggenheim claims they were told they must pay a $40 cover charge. He further said non-Republican gay people were allowed to enter without paying a cover.
It’s impossible to gauge a person’s political beliefs based on their external physical appearance, but Guggenheim, seen wearing a red cap reading “Make Gay Bars Gay Again” in the TikTok video, says he and Chris were wearing the hats when they tried to enter the bar. Archuleta was wearing a “bedazzled MAGA hat.”
“We were just told by the bouncer at Buddies that they’re charging a $40 cover for the three of us to get into this bar when they are not charging anybody else that cover,” Guggenheim said. “This is discrimination and homophobia against gay people who have conservative ideology.”
He urged his followers to “share this all over social media and blast Buddies — in Denver — for their discriminatory practices, in charging conservative gay people $40 covers that they’re aren’t charging to anybody else. They’re lying, they’re discriminating, they’re being homophobic, and they’re literally disenfranchising members of their own community.”
@5280basedhomo Buddies, a gay bar in Denver is discriminating against gay men with “Make Gay Bars Gay Again” by telling is there is a $40 cover thay no one else is being told to pay. This is discrimination, homophobia, intolerance, and bigotry.
There’s no solid evidence — other than Guggenheim’s claims — that the bar only charged conservatives $40 to enter.
Phil Newland of Buddies disputed Guggenheim, noting that “considerable misinformation” has been spread regarding the incident.
Newland told Metro Weekly in an email that the bar was holding a small fundraiser supporting the Harris-Walz campaign from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the day in question. They charged people $40 to enter and seven people (besides organizers) chose to participate, resulting in $280 being raised.
“We had several people choose to not participate in the 60-minute fundraiser, and many of them returned at 5:30 when the fundraiser was over,” Newland wrote, noting that the bar holds weekly fundraisers for a variety of LGBTQ nonprofit organizations.
Unfortunately, some online users heeded Guggenheim’s call to “blast” Buddies, and the bar’s Yelp page received several one-star reviews, with commentators referencing the incident and the bar’s alleged ideological discrimination against gay conservatives.
“Denied entry to gay people who are not ideologically aligned with the left. Really unfortunate and pathetic. Making sure everyone knows Buddies discriminates and is unwelcoming,” wrote one reviewer based in Los Angeles.
“This is not an inclusive space, the gay community should be open and supportive of all members, not a select few,” wrote a reviewer based in San Antonio, Texas.
“This business discriminates. It also helps groom children for gender transition,” wrote a user from Denver. “Please do not patronize this establishment.”
“Buddies is a WOKE bar that discriminates against conservative gay men! They cater to trans. Its no longer a gay bar!” wrote a user from Lexington, Alabama.
Nearly all the negative reviews were posted by people located in cities other than Denver in the days following Guggenheim’s post.
Yelp posted a warning noting that the business had recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news. As a result, the site said it was temporarily disabling posting to determine “whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events.”
As reported by the Colorado Times Recorder, Archuleta, one of the men involved in the controversy, has previously blamed the behavior of LGBTQ people for inspiring anti-LGBTQ violence. He wrote in a December 2022 Facebook post, “The biggest threat to increasing violence towards the LGBT community are LGBT Activists and Organizations who make LGBT people look insane, unreasonable, and menacing. We will face more hate in the future directly due to these activists and organizations.”
Just a few weeks prior, following the 2022 shooting at Club Q, a gay bar in Colorado Springs, which claimed the lives of five people, Archuleta appeared to give credence to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric accusing gays of “grooming” children.
“If you’re really that upset about being called a #groomer maybe you should step back and reevaluate your activity around children,” he wrote.
“We will not engage in conspiracy theories or participate with validating or acknowledging any claims made by GAG [Gays Against Groomers], or their members/followers,” Newland told Metro Weekly.
Some have come to the bar’s defense, denouncing the calls from conservatives to boycott or “cancel” the bar. One Facebook user posted a video saying that the local community would rally around Buddies.
“I have to tell you I have had issues with a lot of people out there, but not the owners of Buddies,” the user said. “They have always been just so amazing and kind and welcoming. The staff has always been great. The locals are going to support Buddies. I don’t care what these people say, or how they try to bash it, [the locals are] going to save that bar.”
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