Banned for being big
Woman not allowed back into bar accuses staff of discrimination
Jenny Dionne started her night on the town in typical fashion a few weeks ago. It ended abruptly one drink later when she wasn’t allowed to re-enter a bar after stepping outside for a smoke because staff thought she was too big.
Ms. Dionne, 22, of Dartmouth, said staff at the Dome took the action because she’s overweight.
"They told me management didn’t want me back in there," Ms. Dionne said in an interview Thursday. "I kept asking why and he just kept saying, ‘I don’t feel comfortable repeating the reason so I’m not telling you.’ "
Ms. Dionne said she was dumbfounded about what the problem could’ve been. She had paid the $6 cover charge and been inside long enough to drink only one vodka with 7-Up.
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"I’ve never done anything out of control in that bar," she said.
The reason became clear a minute later.
"I turned to walk away and the bouncer that worked there told me to lose weight," she said. "I am overweight but I’ve built my confidence up to get over it and I’m working on losing weight.
"I’ve done really well over the past year and to be shot down like that when you think you’re up, it’s like a kick in the butt."
She wrote a letter to the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission, believing she had been wrongly discriminated against. But she was dismayed further with the commission’s response Thursday — she was told nothing in the Human Rights Act protects against discrimination because of weight unless it is due to a disability.
"I was in utter shock that they told me it’s not discrimination," she said. "I seriously thought that I had a valid issue there."
Ms. Dionne said she was rebuffed when she asked to speak to a manager that night at the Dome and subsequent attempts to get in touch with the nightclub were unsuccessful. The Dome didn’t return a call for comment.
Ms. Dionne said she has given up hoping to hear from the bar but still believes it was inappropriate to banish her because of her physical appearance.
"I was really mad because I was a regular at that bar and I’ll probably never set foot there again. They’re a business. They shouldn’t discriminate against anybody for any reason."
She said there was nothing inappropriate about the way she was behaving to warrant asking her to leave the bar and would like at least an apology.
"If the bar wants to take disciplinary action against the person who said it it’d be great. I don’t know his name but I could certainly point him out.
"I don’t want to see it happen to other people."
The bar seems to want only slimmer people on its premises, judging from its action toward her and what’s on its website, she said.
"A couple of my friends are big girls and we’re all regulars at that bar and there’s not a single picture of a big girl on that website," she said. "They’re all tiny, little girls."
Lisa McCuaig, a spokeswoman for the human rights commission, said she couldn’t comment on a specific case.
"To the best of our knowledge the commission has not dealt with this type of complaint before," Ms. McCuaig said. "We cannot speculate whether it falls under the act. That’s not something we’ve looked into."
Meanwhile, Ms. Dionne is looking for a new place to hang out on weekends.
"I haven’t been to Bubbles’ Mansion but I heard it was a nice place so I’ll probably start checking that out," she said.
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Originally Posted by Alex T
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