Anderson's cancels band with transgender lead singer
Lesley Wright and Peter Corbett
The Arizona Republic
Aug. 24, 2007 05:34 PM
SCOTTSDALE - A Scottsdale nightclub embroiled in controversy over accusations of transgender discrimination has canceled a concert planned for Monday that would have featured a transgender singer.
Anderson's Fifth Estate was set to stage Psychic TV and lead singer Genesis P-Orridge, who reportedly had breast-enlargement surgery on Valentine's Day 2003 with his wife Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge.
But club owner Tom Anderson on Friday canceled the performance, saying that the outside promoter who booked the band had not informed him that it included a transgender front-person.
Anderson said he had planned to let the concert proceed, but then received word that transgender advocates planned to picket the event and crash the concert.
Psychic TV and its predecessor, Throbbing Gristle, are known for over-the-edge experimental, psychedelic and industrial music.Transgender patrons of Anderson's Fifth Estate, 6820 E. Fifth Ave.,would have gotten a bathroom of their own for one night if the concert had proceeded.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office is investigating a civil-rights complaint from Michele deLaFreniere that Anderson discriminated against her and other transgender patrons when he banned them from the downtown Scottsdale club.
Anderson said he acted after a group of transgender patrons created a stir when they used the women's bathroom.
Women complained and threatened to take their business elsewhere, Anderson said.
For Monday's show, which features a band, Psychic TV, with a transgender lead singer, Anderson's was to have had a transgender bathroom as well as one for women and men.
The nightclub could not always do that because the three bathrooms are not large enough, Anderson said, adding that one has just a single stall.
"I'm not changing my stance," Anderson said, noting that businesses are not required to provide unisex bathrooms. Anderson declined to voluntarily attend a meeting earlier this month at the Attorney General's Office to answer questions about the alleged discrimination, saying he would only respond if he were issued a subpoena.
From: AZ Central
Anderson's Fifth Estate was set to stage Psychic TV and lead singer Genesis P-Orridge, who reportedly had breast-enlargement surgery on Valentine's Day 2003 with his wife Lady Jaye Breyer P-Orridge.
But club owner Tom Anderson on Friday canceled the performance, saying that the outside promoter who booked the band had not informed him that it included a transgender front-person.
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Anderson said he had planned to let the concert proceed, but then received word that transgender advocates planned to picket the event and crash the concert.
"After looking at the potential for disruption and after consulting with my attorney, Chuck Kelhoffer, I felt I had no choice but to pull the plug on the event," Anderson said.
Psychic TV and its predecessor, Throbbing Gristle, are known for over-the-edge experimental, psychedelic and industrial music.Transgender patrons of Anderson's Fifth Estate, 6820 E. Fifth Ave.,would have gotten a bathroom of their own for one night if the concert had proceeded.
The Arizona Attorney General's Office is investigating a civil-rights complaint from Michele deLaFreniere that Anderson discriminated against her and other transgender patrons when he banned them from the downtown Scottsdale club.
Anderson said he acted after a group of transgender patrons created a stir when they used the women's bathroom.
Women complained and threatened to take their business elsewhere, Anderson said.
For Monday's show, which features a band, Psychic TV, with a transgender lead singer, Anderson's was to have had a transgender bathroom as well as one for women and men.
The nightclub could not always do that because the three bathrooms are not large enough, Anderson said, adding that one has just a single stall.
"I'm not changing my stance," Anderson said, noting that businesses are not required to provide unisex bathrooms. Anderson declined to voluntarily attend a meeting earlier this month at the Attorney General's Office to answer questions about the alleged discrimination, saying he would only respond if he were issued a subpoena.
From: AZ Central
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