Vermont bar ‘Mister Sister’ changes name after being slammed by LGBT community
A gay bar in Vermont has announced they will change the name after facing backlash since they opened.
The “Mister Sister” bar in Winooski is run by Craig McGaughan.
McGaughan faced controversy as the name was deemed to be transphobic, but he insisted it was intended to be inclusive.
However, the bar owner has now decided to rebrand to “The Bridge Club”.
In a Facebook statement, the bar owner wrote that he made the decision after a trans woman wrote him a letter explaining that the problematic nature of the name was much bigger than just him or the bar.
“She sent me link to many messages from folks claiming to support MS using public forums to create hate toward the trans community. I am a trans ally and when faced with the fact that this issue has created a platform for trans people to be blatantly abused, I had to act,” he wrote.
The bar owner insisted that he does not “support any hateful rhetoric or actions toward trans people or anyone else in the LGBTQ community”.
He added that he was outraged people were going under the guise of “Mister Sister” to attack trans people.
“I’m outraged that anyone has attacked the trans community under the guise of supporting me or the bar.
“I can proudly say that I have never seen or heard any of this behaviour inside the four walls of the bar and no one that works there, performs there or regularly visits would tolerate this,” he added.
He finished the statement by apologising to the trans community and insisting that he would be working with the local Pride centre to devise a name which would be more welcoming.
He concluded: “I realise now that I mistakenly listened to the fight rather than the pain. I apologise to anyone that feels personally affected by the actions of myself or the bar. I’m choosing to forgive and would ask for forgiveness in return.
“I’m currently working with the Pride Center to create a solution to heal the wounds that have been caused and my hope is that we can figure out how to move forward. Together.”
