Gay Travel
Gay tourist says he was kicked out of Puerto Rican bar for “dancing with another man”
A gay man is alleging that he and his boyfriend were kicked out of a bar for dancing with another man during their trip to Puerto Rico.
A gay man by the name of Luis Santiago-Rivera is alleging that he, his boyfriend and his family were all kicked out of a bar because his boyfriend was dancing with another man during their trip to Puerto Rico. His boyfriend, @treymay_ on Twitter, posted a thread containing videos last night, which has quickly gone viral.
“this just shows that the LGBTQ community has a battle NO MATTER WHERE they go. whether it is another city, state, or COUNTRY the LGBTQ family has to always be cautious of their surroundings. SPREAD LOVE always,” he wrote.
The Bar, Gyros, issued a statement on their official Facebook page, claiming that “never had misunderstandings with any member.”
Our intention has never been the offending of any person. All customers who have had the opportunity to visit us know first hand how is the deal we give day by day. We apologize greatly to the customers affected today and we express that we are open to dialogue with them in specific. Our intention is to give a good service to all alike. To the whole community, we had never had misunderstandings with any member. The doors are open to receive and treat them as we all deserve. If they give us the opportunity we will prove it. To the boys who felt offended apologies. If you communicate with us we can give them personally.
Peace 🕊 Merry Christmas!!!! 🇵🇷 🇵🇷”
The statement doesn’t clarify why exactly the couple and family members were asked to leave the establishment. David Begnaud, however, decided to reach out them personally and asked for their side, to which they replied that nobody was asked to leave, simply that they were asked to “go outside” as someone had lit an e-cigarette.
Begnaud continued the thread by saying that Rivera alleges that while someone was using an e-cig, they were never once asked to leave for that reason. In fact, homophobic slurs were used by those forcing them out.
In a follow up video, you can see that someone holding the microphone takes issue with @treymay_ dancing with another man, which calls into question the validity of Gyros’ blanket statement and “concerns over e-cig use.”
Other users on Twitter quickly circulated the thread, with one user writing that there’s a danger in Puerto Rico being advertised as an LGBTQ friendly travel destination when you have things like this still happening. A very sobering reminder that even in the most progressive of places, homophobia finds ways to thrive.
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