A hotel security guard who ordered a woman to leave a bathroom after she was wrongfully accused of being a man has been suspended.
Ansley Baker and her girlfriend, Liz Victor, both biological women, said the guard entered the women’s bathroom at The Liberty Hotel in Boston, US, and demanded the former leave the stall she was using.
According to the couple, Baker was inside one of the stalls while Victor waited at the sink when he entered.
The security officer involved in the incident was being ‘suspended from their position immediately’ following the hotel’s investigation.
The hotel also said that the general manager was reaching out to the individuals involved, and that it was conducting ‘mandatory retraining for all staff on inclusive practices and guest interaction protocols, with a particular focus on creating a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ+ individuals’.
The two women had been attending a Kentucky Derby party inside the hotel on Saturday when the incident happened.
Speaking with CBS News, they said that their afternoon came to an end when security staff entered the women’s restroom and asked them to prove their gender.
Baker told the outlet: ‘All of a sudden there was banging on the door I pulled my shorts up. I hadn’t even tied them.
‘One of the security guards was there telling me to get out of the bathroom, that I was a man in the women’s bathroom. I said, ‘I’m a woman’.’
The two women had been attending a Kentucky Derby party inside the hotel on Saturday when the incident happened. Pictured: Ansley Baker (L) and her girlfriend Liz Victor
Other women waiting in the bathroom line reportedly called her a ‘creep’ as she was escorted out.
Once back at the lobby, the couple were asked to hand over their IDs and asked to leave.
Initially, the hotel said that ‘several women’ had alerted security on site to ‘two adults sharing a bathroom stall’.
The hotel had also claimed that one of the couple had put their hands on their security staff, which the couple denies.
‘Once the stall door opened, and I’m the only one in there, it escalated further,’ Baker told Boston News 25.
‘I don’t think that aligns with what they’re saying.’
In a statement on Tuesday, the couple said, ‘We have not seen any public statement with an apology nor a retraction of their original claims to clarify that Ansley was the only one in the stall.’
Baker and Victor said they came forward with their story hoping to make a difference.
‘We know we’re not the only ones that face this kind of thing and just hope it doesn’t happen again and that other people who go through this receive the same support,’ said Baker.
The women said the guard entered the women’s bathroom at The Liberty Hotel in Boston, US, and demanded Ms Baker leave the stall she was using
They have alerted Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s office about their experience to prevent anyone else from a similar situation.
The updated statement from the hotel said: ‘In a reaffirmation of our values, the hotel is making a donation to a local LGBTQ+ organization that we have partnered with in the past, on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), on May 17.
‘The Liberty Hotel is and always will be an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and a place where everyone is welcome and celebrated.’
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .