A gay bar in West Hollywood is under fire this week, thanks to a viral allegation on TikTok. According to TikToker @benjispears, a bartender at Micky’s West Hollywood called security on a man who turned him down on Grindr.
“My friend, who’s a boy, refused to sleep with a bartender,” Spears says in a TikTok filmed at the nightclub. “And now they’re kicking us out. If this was a woman, that wouldn’t happen.”
He calls on his 988,000 followers to complain to Micky’s on social media. This was exactly the kind of issue that his followers would care about, because @benjispears specializes in vlogs about bartending and nightlife.
The original video shows @benjispears being refunded for his drink by the bar’s manager, who ignores his accusation that an employee had ulterior motives for calling security.
The video has now been viewed over 900,000 times, leading to a deluge of negative reviews for Micky’s. The bar’s Yelp page is down to a 2.5 star rating thanks to reviews like this: “Kicking out and trying to humiliate paying customers is not acceptable,” and “The disgusting display of sexual harassment has me sick to my stomach.”
Meanwhile on Tripadvisor, the bar’s page is full of comments like, “Gross misconduct, throwing someone out because they wouldn’t sleep with your staff. That’s outrageous!”
Benji Spears posted two more updates, giving a bit more context on what allegedly happened. He says that when they first arrived at Micky’s, his friend mentioned that he’d just turned down one of the bartenders on Grindr. Spears says that as soon as this bartender saw them arrive, he called security and had Spears and his friend kicked out of the club. They were told they were being removed for “endangering others,” Spears says.
Describing the security team as coming at them like “a pack of wolves,” Spears says, “That’s bullying. And it’s actually sexual harassment, because now we’re getting removed because my friend turned you down on Grindr.”
“Why I’m sad is, that club literally was my favorite club,” says Spears, the morning after his original post. “Every single Tuesday, that club was my spot. Sadly, obviously I’m not gonna go back there any more.”
“My brand is comedy, laughter, my goal is to make you guys laugh,” he adds. “But most importantly, I use my brand to help educate, and to focus on keeping bar patrons safe. I make videos to teach everyone to keep themselves safe… and that’s why I was so passionate and upset last night.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Micky’s and @benjispears for comment.
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