Sydney’s newest gay club, Pink Pony, has revealed plans to change its name, after it endured major backlash for seeking a “predominantly” gay male clientele.
ICYMI, the venue — set to open on Oxford Street in December — caused a stir on social media on Monday when its owner, Kevin Du-Val, said it will be “unashamedly targeted” towards gay men, who he hoped would make up “90 per cent” of its customers.
“Of course the girls will be welcome, but it would certainly be our desire that it is predominantly gay boys, and when I say predominantly, I’m sort of talking 90 per cent plus,” Du-Val told Gay Sydney News.
The comments drew fierce criticism on social media, with many members of Sydney’s queer community, including lesbian women, upset over the decision to target gay men while naming the venue after “Pink Pony Club”, the queer anthem by lesbian artist Chappell Roan.
Now, operators have wiped the original name from the venue’s social media account and replaced it with the username “new.name.coming”.
Michael Lewis, the CEO of Pink Pony’s parent company Tuloch Pty Ltd, confirmed the name change in a statement, saying it was the result of “very passionate feedback from the wider community”.
“We acknowledge and respect the very passionate feedback from the wider community and it is clear that it’s best to move forward with a different name for the new venue,” Lewis — who will co-manage the club with Du-Val — said, per The Guardian.
At the time of writing, the venue’s Instagram page has been wiped of all posts, including one about it being created “specifically for 18 to 35 [year-old] gay men (state of mind)”.
It’s not yet known what the venue’s new name will be.
In a statement provided to PEDESTRIAN.TV at the height of the controversy, Lewis said “the backlash from some parts of the community is disappointing”.
“However, from our perspective, a business having a target demographic is not particularly remarkable or newsworthy, but clearly we have unintentionally hit a raw nerve,” he added.
The name change comes after Sydney drag queen Etcetera Etcetera and events organiser Heaps Gay joined those calling out Du-Val’s comments, with the former saying a preference for male clientele is “absolutely crazy” and the latter describing it as “tone deaf”.
Despite the backlash, Lewis told P.TV the response to the venue has been “overwhelmingly positive” and said it “look[s] forward to delivering a fabulous club to our followers”.
Lead images: Getty Images and Instagram
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