Lesbian says she was turned away from gay club heaven for ‘not looking queer’ – Daily Mail
A woman who attended one of Britain’s biggest gay nightclubs on a night of London‘s cancelled Pride parade with her girlfriend has revealed she wasn’t allowed into the club because she ‘didn’t look queer’.
Olivia, who travelled from Bristol to London for the night out, says she was turned away for being ‘too feminine’ despite attending with a group of lesbian women.
Taking to TikTok, the student, who has long blonde hair and was sporting a fitted red dress explained she was told to go somewhere ‘not associated with the gay community’.
‘Hi. So if you’re a queer woman who ‘doesn’t look like a queer woman’ then don’t bother going to Heaven,’ she explained.
‘ I just got turned away on the grounds that I should go somewhere that is not associated with the gay community.
‘On Pride, I got turned away when I was with my girlfriend, and my friends who are a couple.
‘So that happened to me today. So just don’t bother going to Heaven unless you’re a gay man, that’s basically it.’
Olivia, who was attending the night out with her girlfriend Em, and her friend’s Ellie and Elise, was inundated with comments saying people had experienced similar situations.
Heaven is one of the most famous and historic gay venues in the UK. The club is nestled into the arches underneath Charing Cross Station.
A woman who attended one of Britain’s biggest gay nightclubs on a night of London’s cancelled Pride parade with her girlfriend has revealed she wasn’t allowed into the club because she ‘didn’t look queer’. Right with her girlfriend Ems
The venue brought gay clubbing into the mainstream as previously many gay venues were tiny or hidden away.
It has also been used as a vaccination centre during the pandemic.
It attracts many A-list performers, including Dua Lipa, Madonna, the Spice Girls and Kylie Minogue.
FEMAIL has contacted Olivia and Heaven for comment. A Heaven spokesperson told MyLondon they were ‘sorry if the security team got it wrong’.
Olivia, who was attending the night out with her girlfriend Em, and her friend’s Ellie and Elise, was inundated with comments saying people had experienced similar situations.
‘To clarify, the security on the front for Heaven are LGBT themselves,’ a spokesperson told MyLondon.
‘[With] Saturday night being cancelled, Pride was extremely busy – and [on] busy nights we do have a stricter door [policy] and prioritise regular customers to Heaven.
‘It was insanely busy with the queue to get in remaining until 3.30am.’
‘Heaven is proud to be an LGBT venue and safe place to go to. Decisions on the door are to keep the venue safe and sometimes mistakes are made’.
Olivia, who travelled from Bristol to London for the night out, says she was turned away for being ‘too feminine’ despite attending with a group of lesbian women
Yesterday’s London Pride parade was cancelled for a second year in a row amid rising Covid-19 cases but there were events held across the country for the LGBTQ+ community.
Dozens commented on the video saying they’d had a similar experience.
‘I used to work there on the door in 2011 and I can confirm that’s what management and door management always did. I didn’t agree with it and still don’t,’ wrote one.
Her friend Lauren Hudson, who was with her, added: ‘We all looked so fit as well.’
Another said: ‘My friend got turned away on the basis that his Siouxie and the Banshees T-short showed he wasn’t gay.’
One said: ‘Exact same thing happened to me last time I went.’
And another added: ‘This happened to me too, years ago.
‘But they only stopped me and my brown femme friend – let everybody else in.’
One said: ‘As someone who just quit my job there I noticed this was such a big problem! I reported it a few times but they didn’t stop.’