Cassandra The Queen Says She Was Refused Entry To Sydney’s Star Hotel For Being In Drag

Cassandra The Queen Says She Was Refused Entry To Sydney’s Star Hotel For Being In Drag
Image: Images: Instagram

Sydney drag performer Cassandra The Queen was refused entry into a Sydney pub, allegedly for being in drag. 

According to Cassandra, at around 8pm on November 25, after attending a queer mixer, she and a group of friends decided to get a drink at the Star Hotel on Sussex Street, in the Sydney CBD.

‘We Have a Dress Code’

Speaking to Star Observer, she explained, “When we were approaching the door, the security guard outright said, ‘you can’t come in here because we have a dress code’

“Of course, I was very confused. So I was like, ‘oh, okay, sorry. What was the dress code?’

“And he said, ‘we just have a dress code. You can’t come in here.’

“I was wearing a dress. So like there was nothing explicit. There was nothing. If I was a woman and they were a very conservative place, I would still be within the dress code.”

Cassandra The Queen On November 25. Image: Supplied

Police Order Drag Performer To Move On

Cassandra then said that the security guard changed the reason for not letting her and her friends into the bar, accusing her of being an entertainer for a bucks party.

“It got me more confused,” Cassandra said. “I was with queer people wearing normal day clothes.”

She continued, “We’re just a group of friends who want to come here and have some drinks before heading out. 

“Then it escalated because my other queer friends started to question him, and we caught on that it was just pure discrimination on their side because I was dressed in drag and they just wouldn’t let us in because of that. And clearly, they couldn’t answer properly. 

“They couldn’t give us proper reasoning why they would outright deny us entry.”

A police officer, who was supervising road works, oversaw the interaction and came over and ordered Cassandra and her friends to move on, or get a $600 fine. 

“We didn’t talk to the police anymore because we just know that the police weren’t deescalating things,” Cassandra said. At that point she and her friends, who were shaken by the incident, decided that it was just best to leave.

Cassandra: Want To See That This Wouldn’t Happen Again

After calling the Star Hotel to discuss the incident, Cassandra was offered a voucher. 

“I politely declined,” Cassandra said. “That’s good that you’re offering me that, but that’s the least of my demands right now. I actually want to see actions from your side that this wouldn’t happen again and you recognise that there was something wrong with your awareness and how you treat queer and LGBT people.”

According to Cassandra she was told by the general manager that the security guard would be spoken to but that “the security guard is a contractor so she really couldn’t do much about it.”

In a statement to Star Observer, Star Hotel General Manager Carolyn Kelly said, “We are aware of the alleged incident and the circumstances and take issues surrounding inclusivity seriously. To reinforce these issues, the owner, manager and security guard have undertaken LGBTQ training by ACON.”

Star Hotel did not respond to a followup enquiry about what else would be done, besides the ACON training, to ensure this does not happen again.

First Time At A Non-Queer Venue In Drag

Cassandra shared that this was the first time she went out to a non-queer venue in drag. 

“It was a shocker for me,” she said. 

“Sydney is supposed to be celebrating WorldPride in a few months, and these things are still happening, regardless if it’s a straight venue or like a queer venue. It shouldn’t be happening.

“There will be a lot of queer people from all over the world coming in here because of WorldPride, and these are the hospitality venues that they’re gonna get into. It’s just a very bad rep for Sydney to be honest.”

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