A luxury Manchester hotel has faced an LGBTQ+ backlash over one of its cocktails.
Hotel Brooklyn posted details of its Marsha P. Johnson cocktail - named after the trailblazing Stonewall activist - on Instagram to 'mark what would have been Manchester Gay Pride Week'.
It has since faced criticism from the city's LGBTQ+ community on Twitter, who have accused it of profiting from the Pride movement by not donating any of the proceeds to charity.
Gaydio breakfast host Dean McCullough described it as 'Pride washing' in a tweet last night.
The hotel has now said it will work with the community to find the best charity to donate proceeds from the drink to, but that it would not be 'a big amount'.
General Manager Paul Bayliss MBE said in a statement: "We are deeply sorry if we have offended anyone by launching our Pride cocktail in memory of American gay liberation activist and self-identified drag queen, Marsha P. Johnson.
"The team at Hotel Brooklyn has long been inspired by her and the design of our cocktail - which was launched in February - was genuinely intended to be a good-hearted statement that Hotel Brooklyn is open to everyone.
"It is really important for us to stand up for the right of all people to live their lives the way they want to.
"All proceeds from the cocktail itself will be made to an appropriate LGBTQ+ charity and we are taking advice on this from a senior member of the LGBTQ+ community in Manchester."
Speaking to Gaydio Manchester this morning, Mr Bayliss said the cocktail had been on the menu since February, and added: "We haven't sold that many Marsha P. Johnson cocktails. We've sold four in fact.
"If people want us to donate the money that we have for the cocktail, we're quite happy to do that, but it wouldn't be a big amount."
Neil Butler, deputy general manager, later said that the cocktail was inspired by a Netflix documentary.
The hotel opened on Portland Street in February this year, and comes from the same owners as Hotel Gotham.
The hotel's original Instagram post, along with hundreds of comments, was deleted shortly after the Gaydio appearance.
PR executive Harry Jones shared screenshots last night, in a tweet that has been shared more than 1,000 times.
He also shared screenshots of his private correspondence with the hotel, where he asked which charity they would be supporting.
The hotel replied: "Hi Harry. It's not a Pride cocktail, it's a 'Marsha P. Johnson' cocktail which we launched on her birthday.
"We didn't allude to donating to a charity in this instance so not sure if you read the post correctly, but we are definitely all about promoting inclusivity and raising awareness for an equal society - it's in our blood here and in every fibre of Hotel BKYLN's being!
"As you may know we have only just recently reopened and are working on really exciting partnerships where we will be able to give back to communities and charities in a really meaningful way.
"Would you like us to add you to our newsletter so we can keep you informed? :-) x"
Harry has previously called out other corporations for 'Pride-washing', which refers to using LGBTQ+ symbols like the rainbow flag without doing tangible work for LGBTQ+ communities and causes.
Other Twitter users have said the the hotel is 'donating out of duress' and that they 'need to try better'.
The hotel has now posted a public apology to its Instagram page.
