A female comedian is reportedly being sued following allegations she refused to allow a man to attend her women-only show in Los Angeles – a case her accuser says is comparable to civil rights activist Rosa Parks in the 1950s.
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Iliza Shlesinger, a former winner of the NBC reality show ‘Last Comic Standing’, has been accused of leading a “war on men” after refusing to let 21-year-old George St. George entry to her “Girls Night In With Iliza – No Boys Allowed” show at LA’s Coronet Theater on November 13. In legal documents published by the Hollywood Reporter, St. George said that he had first been told he would have to sit at the back because of his gender. However, when he later went to pick up the tickets, theater officials told him it was a women-only event and offered him a full refund.
Unwanted sexual behaviors & “hypermasculinity… undermine core values, unit cohesion, combat readiness, and public goodwill” in armed forces – report https://t.co/LkeDu5GQUt
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“Simply put, it is against many California laws for a business to discriminate against patrons based on their sex or other personal characteristics, such as race or sexual orientation which should surprise no one,” said the complaint, submitted by attorney Alfred Rava.
The florid 14-page suit, which opens with a quote from George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, also compares the event to racial segregation in the southern states during the 20th century, adding that being denied access because of gender is “akin to the Montgomery City Lines bus company in Montgomery, Alabama, circa 1955.” That was the year civil rights activist Rosa Parks famously refused to sit at the back of a city bus, sparking a boycott of public transit over racial segregation laws.
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Rava also claimed that having a ‘No Boys Allowed’ night was as “repugnant” as a “Caucasian Night” or “Heterosexual Night.” St George is suing for unspecified damages.
RT.com has contacted Schlesinger’s representatives and the Coronet Theatre for comment. Schlesinger has spent the holiday season overseas. On Christmas Day, she tweeted a picture from her show entertaining US troops in Iraq with the United Service Organization (USO).
Getting to spend the holidays with our soldiers, giving them a little taste of Home was such an honor. In 5 days we did 11 shows in UAE, Afghanistan, Iraq and Poland. Thank you @the_USO and thank you to our amazing men and women in uniform. 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/lcdUnoxznQ
— Iliza Shlesinger (@iliza) December 28, 2017