Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

PRYSM Apologizes To Trans Chicagoan After Victim Pushes For Legal Action

By Kelly Bauer | January 12, 2017 12:03pm
 Jay Graber (left), a transfeminine person, was denied entry to PRYSM Nightclub for wearing a dress, Graber said.
Jay Graber (left), a transfeminine person, was denied entry to PRYSM Nightclub for wearing a dress, Graber said.
View Full Caption
Courtesy Jay Graber and Yelp/PRYSM

CHICAGO — PRYSM, the nightclub that allegedly turned away and mocked a trans person, has publicly responded to complaints that charged the club with being "transgender phobic," among other things.

But Jay Graber, the trans person who said they were denied entry to PRYSM for wearing a dress, said the club's public response to the incident seems like a bare-minimum "conciliatory gesture."

Graber, who uses the pronouns "they" and "them," hadn't even received a personal response or apology form PRYSM until Graber announced they were considering legal action, they said.

Graber has privately and publicly contacted PRYSM, and numerous people have posted to the club's Facebook page since the Dec. 30 incident, criticizing the club and saying they would no longer go there. But it wasn't until Tuesday night that the club responded to the criticism through Facebook.

"PRYSM has always welcomed members of the LGBTQ community, including non-binary gender identified patrons," PRYSM wrote in a public Facebook post. "We're looking into the current situation and take inclusivity seriously and are dedicated to maintaining a safe and inclusive space."

PRYSM plans to hire a "community educator" so its staff will be "properly educated," according to the post. It was not immediately clear what the community educator will teach or how often the educator will work with PRYSM's employees.

PRYSM has not responded to multiple requests for comment. It also appears to have removed at least some of the posts criticizing the club on Facebook and disabled further posting.

PRYSM's post about hiring a "community educator" lacked details that would help critics like Graber determine if the change would be effective, Graber said.

"I think this is a conciliatory gesture of, 'What is the least that we could do to respond to this and still make it appear that we care?'" Graber said.

Graber commented on PRYSM's post, questioning how the club could say it welcomes non-binary patrons after employees wouldn't let in Graber and their non-binary friends.

"The door manager simply doesn't admit transgender people, no matter how they are dressed," Graber wrote in their response. "I have still heard not a single apologetic word nor mention of the approximately $120 that they effectively stole from myself, my date (who is also transgender) and our friend," Graber said, referring to the tickets they purchased that were not refunded.

"And yet we are expected to believe that PRYSM Nightclub actually gives a damn about inclusivity?!"

Graber is considering a lawsuit against PRYSM and is filing a discrimination complaint with the city's Human Rights Commission. Critics have said they will no longer go to PRYSM and some have called for a boycott of the club.

Shortly after reading PRYSM's Facebook post, Graber wrote on Facebook that they had received an offer from an attorney to represent Graber pro bono if they wanted to pursue legal action against PRYSM for discrimination.

Within 10 minutes of Graber writing that post, PRYSM responded to Graber in a comment on Facebook, offering "apologies for the situation and the inconvenience," Graber said. PRYSM offered to refund Graber and put them on the VIP guest list for an upcoming show, Graber said.

"Regarding your offer of free tickets: Will my complimentary ticket say 'MALE?' like the one I was issued Dec. 30?" Graber responded. "Literally every member of your staff with whom I interacted that night misgendered me and I'm not trying to deal with that nonsense again."

Graber also told the club they still intend to file a discrimination complaint with the city. If that complaint is successful, Graber said, they will encourage the two other non-binary people who were turned away from PRYSM to file complaints with the city's Commission on Human Rights.

"Free tickets to a venue that only allows trans people once their discrimination is noticed by news outlets and famous attorneys aren't going to make up for the bulls--t I've dealt with as a result of your awful business practices," Graber wrote.

The Commission on Human Rights investigates complaints and, if there is "substantial evidence of discrimination," the cases go to hearings, said Ken Gunn, deputy commissioner of the Chicago Commission on Human Relations.

Businesses can face fines of up to $1,000 if a complainant prevails in a hearing, Gunn said, and complainants can go to court to receive damages.

The alleged incident happened on Dec. 30. Graber and a friend, Lux, who is also transgender, were turned away from the club because Graber was wearing a dress, Graber said. Graber told PRYSM's employees that was discrimination and the employees then said the problem was Graber's shoes, Graber said.

But even after Graber went home, changed shoes and returned, PRYSM employees refused to let Graber and their friend into the club, Graber said. Employees mocked and misgendered the two, Graber said, and scanned their tickets — marking Graber's as "male" — but didn't let them inside.

An employee then told Graber and Lux to leave the property even though they had let other people in dresses inside the club, Graber said.

Other venues — including SpyBar, Queen! at Smart Bar and Freakeasy — have since reached out to Graber and their friends, offering free access to events, Graber said.

And Graber's friends and people they didn't know, including Ald. James Cappleman (46th), have offered support or help pursuing legal recourse.

"I already didn't care for the club, but I definitely won't support any business that discriminates against anybody," said Sean Felz, who also posted to PRYSM's Facebook criticizing the club. Felz didn't know Graber before he heard about the incident at PRYSM.

Gene Wagendorf, of Belmont Cragin, said he will not go to PRYSM in the future — and he's contacting the venue's future performers to let them know about Graber's story.

"If this happened to any trans person and I became aware of it, that would be enough for me not to want to support that business," said Wagendorf, a friend of Graber's. "It's really important to live a more principled life. We vote in a lot of ways with our dollars."

For more neighborhood news, listen to DNAinfo Radio here.