Carter Young, the manager of Dallas gay bar JR's Bar & Grill, was fired on Thursday night after an incident in which he refused to serve a transgender woman went viral on social media. Daniel Heredia shared video of the incident , in which his transgender friend Blair was denied service and then shoved by the bouncer. Wrote Heredia: “It all felt like it stemmed from transphobia.”
Young denies those allegations, and has responded to the firing in a Facebook post.
Writes Young: “For more than two decades, I have worked for JRs and supported the community that I love and live in. As I sit here, I wonder how one seemingly normal shift at work snowballed into this hell. All I can come up with is that people take to social media in bad faith and others trust what gets posted without hearing all sides. And these days, even news media parrot the “content” instead of vetting it, spreading the false information even farther and increasing the damage. Here is my side.”
“I have dealt with and carded Blair several times throughout the past three to four years,” he continued. “Each time, I have had to ask her to leave because she had a fake ID. On this latest occasion, I asked for her ID. I inspected it and it appeared fake to me. I asked her for any other ID and she told me that was her only one. I then told her that we would not be able to serve her because the ID seemed fake. I never said I wouldn't be able to serve her friends, because I knew they are of legal age. The group walked away from my serving area, but did not leave the bar. I waited about 10 to 15 minutes and then said again that Blair could not be in the bar and that she had to leave. That is when her friends started using their phones to record me. I simply held my hand up to shield my face and called for security to help. Security came in and politely asked Blair to leave.”
Added Young: “At that point, Blair started screaming and hitting the security guard. The security guard then was protecting himself and pushing her outside the front door. Once outside the door, she continued to scream and fight the officer. After a few moments, Blair called the Dallas Police Department. Officers arrived and everyone seemed to calm down. I was not involved with anything outside except to talk with the police officers when they suggested issuing a criminal trespass citation. An officer then issued one to Blair, and that can be verified.”
“The police officer explained that the ID could not be confirmed as real or fake — and that Blair had several IDs from different states,” Young said. “Blair left the scene screaming at me and the security officer.”
“I have worked for Caven for 21 years,” he continued. “I do not have any ill will or anger towards any person's gender identity. I do not have any sort of transphobia as people have stated on social media. As per the Caven Corporate's rules and regulations — and Texas' stringent alcohol laws — I have been checking and inspecting IDs constantly. Two days after the incident, I had a meeting with Caven Corporate to discuss what had happened. After explaining in detail the event of that Tuesday night I was told that it would be best if we parted ways and that I was being fired. I was in shock. I felt that I had done my job as a manager. The write up was written out before Corporate had listened to my side of the story, which they did not get until a false narrative had already spread like wildfire online.”
“I asked Corporate where the support is from the company where I have worked for more than 21 years,” Young added. “There was no answer. I loved the people that I served and the people that I worked with. These last several days have been filled with support from friends and family. But at the same time, I have been bullied and harassed on social media by people I have never met.”
