An entertainer, aka ‘midnight ballerina,’ in Illinois recently had her independent contract terminated. The reason why? She is 32 weeks pregnant, and she thinks the club wants to avoid liability.
In a video with more than 486,000 views, Selena Benz (@theselenabenz) explained how her recent contract at an adult entertainment club was cut off.
“I’m an independent contractor, and tonight my boss followed me to the dressing room and told me that if I do not have a doctor’s note for being pregnant, that states that I can work and that I can wear heels, [otherwise] I cannot work at her establishment.”
Benz was confused by the encounter, as her employer redacted the comment and said she was being let go because of a breach of contract shortly after discussing it with her.
Benz’s contract termination
Benz, an adult entertainment content creator, has worked nights at a local strip club since July. She started her contract while pregnant, although she was not showing at the time. During a recent shift, her boss followed her into the club’s dressing room and asked her to bring in a doctor’s note confirming she could work in heels while heavily pregnant.
“ She told me that I have to have a doctor’s note in order to work at her club. So I said, that’s fine. My doctor already knows what’s going on and said that he would have a doctor’s note for me on Monday…” Benz said. “She’s like, ‘well, until you have the doctor’s note, [you’ll] need to leave and then try again tomorrow.”
Benz stayed calm but told her employer she would consider taking the issue to court if needed. Later, she asked for written clarification about what the doctor’s note should include. That is when her employer informed her that she had apparently breached her contract. The manager removed Benz from her contract immediately, citing gambling in the club and remaining in the dressing room during work hours.
Is it legal for a contractor to get fired over not having a doctor’s note?
While Benz may have an opportunity to argue that she did not breach her contract and that her contract was wrongfully ended, it’s unlikely she will have a case. Contractors are not protected by employment laws in the same ways that employees might be. For instance, a contractor doesn’t necessarily have the same protections under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA), which prohibits employers from discriminating against pregnant women.
As one commenter told Benz, “You don’t work for them, you are self employed. You don’t technically have a job. You own and operate your own entertainment business, [so] you can’t be fired for pregnancy discrimination because you aren’t their employee…”
If the club, however, treated her like an employee but placed her under a “contract position” to avoid legal mishaps, there might have been a case. This generally requires that the contractor work in their position for a year beforehand. Benz had only been working for five months, making her ineligible.
@theselenabenz ♬ original sound – Selena Benz
There’s more
Benz posted a quick update on Nov. 27 that included text messages from her former employer. The manager clarified that her termination was not related to her pregnancy. Instead, she said Benz broke her contract by gambling inside the club.
The club manager wrote, “Per the agreement, dancers must greet customers at least once and actively work the floor. From 6:02- 6:49 [p.m.] you were gambling and did not greet or engage with nine customers. Then, [you] went to the dressing room without working. This is a clear breach of the contract.”
To Benz, it appeared the manager avoided putting the “real” reason she was let go in writing.
“ She played it off like she was firing me for violating the contract and I was like, ‘OK, well. Good to know,’” Benz said in her original video.
Commenters tell the midnight ballerina to move on
Despite Benz’s frustration with the situation, many commenters advocated that it should be a sign to let go and take up a different occupation. Some stated that her pregnancy was an obvious liability and risk for the adult club and emphasized the fact that she shouldn’t work in such an environment while pregnant. Others simply advocated that she could find better revenue streams through alternative means.
“As a woman, I would agree that at 32 weeks along, it probably does make people uncomfortable. Not that it’s ugly or anything. But it’s not…appropriate…for that business model,” said one viewer.
Another added, “Babes the fetus does not need these kind[s] of vibes, it’s time to move on.”
The Mary Sue reached out to Benz via TikTok comment.
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