Adult performer and GayVN Award nominee Max Konnor has accused New York City leather store, The Leather Man, of discriminatory behavior while he was in the store.
Konnor took to his Twitter account on Saturday, December 8, writing: "Guys, I just experienced racism full force. The owner of @LeatherManNYC just kicked me out after coming in trying to get an outfit made for the @GayVN awards. Please let them know that this behavior will not stand. Do not support this company. Send them a message.”
Guys, I just experienced racism full force. The owner of @LeatherManNYC just kicked me out after coming in trying to get an outfit made for the @GayVN awards. Please let them know that this behavior will not stand. Do not support this company. Send them a message. pic.twitter.com/DaGpZTpJJT
— MAX KONNOR (@maxkonnorxxx) December 8, 2018
Konnor is nominated for three awards at the 2019 GayVN’s including ‘Performer of the Year.’
After being told the design he’d hoped to have made for the awards ceremony wouldn’t be possible, Konnor and his designer, Maxfield Haynes, continued to browse the store and pulled out their phones to call for a car.
At that point, Konnor says the owner approached him saying, “We really don’t have time to watch people that aren’t going to buy anything.”
Konnor says he told the shop keeper he didn’t need to be “watched.” The owner then allegedly raised his voice telling the men to “Get out of my store.”
The duo exited the store and the front door was apparently locked after their departure. Haynes says there were still 10 other people in the store.
Store employee Scott Jordan told OUT that the issue was the owner, Chuck Mueller, doesn’t like phones used in the store.
“When they came upstairs he asked them not to use their phones because people come in and take photos and stuff and never buy anything,” said Jordan. “They said something to him and that just set him off.”
“It wasn’t a matter of race,” Jordan added. “If they were white, he would have done the same thing; it’s his age.”
Haynes and Konnor say no one asked them to put their phones away during their visit to the store.
Since Konnor went public with his allegations The Leather Man has issued a statement denying any racism via Instagram.
The statement denounces “rumors and misinformation” about the alleged incident.
“The Leather Man has a long history of employing women, people of color, and transgendered individuals in both sales and management positions,” according to the statement. “Throughout the worst of the AIDS epidemic, many HIV positive individuals found both employment and a safe home at The Leather Man when confronted by fear and discrimination elsewhere.”
“We are deeply saddened that the specific interaction in question was, in any fashion, construed to have any racial overtones,” the post continues.
Here’s the full statement:
However, one fan chimed in on Konnor’s Twitter account saying they saw the alleged behavior:
Going through my IG messages and I find: a message from a guy who was at @LeatherManNYC when they kicked me out. He wrote this minutes after the incident. NO MORE EXCUSES! pic.twitter.com/zbJw4Zhyjz
— MAX KONNOR (@maxkonnorxxx) December 11, 2018
And another adult performer added this:
Yep. Not once was I ever cautioned against using my phone in all the years I’ve gone there. Hell, I’ve made videos in there! It’s just absurd.
— Topher Drew (@topherdrewxxx) December 10, 2018
At least he did not get
At least he did not get 'necklaced" …. happens all the time in NON WHITE places.