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Woman kicked out of Boston hotel bathroom after being accused of being a man sues
The women allege they were denied the right to use the bathroom “because of what Ms. Baker looks like and because they are in a lesbian relationship.”
A Boston woman who was accosted in a women’s bathroom at the Liberty Hotel in May after a security guard mistook her for a man is now suing the hotel, accusing its employees of crafting a defamatory cover story.
Ansley Baker and her partner, Elizabeth Victor, filed the complaint in Suffolk Superior Court Thursday, naming the hotel and several of its employees and executives.
The lawsuit comes months after the Liberty Hotel agreed to settle a related complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination, a resolution that included updated nondiscrimination policies, anti-discrimination training, and a $10,000 charitable donation to a nonprofit organization dedicated to LGBTQ+ causes.
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Baker and Victor were attending a Kentucky Derby watch party with friends on May 3 when the incident unfolded. When Baker decided to use the restroom, Victor tagged along and waited by the sink while Baker entered a stall, according to the lawsuit. Within seconds, however, a male security guard walked in and began banging on the stall door, accusing Baker of being a man and shouting for her to leave.
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The women allege they were denied the right to use the bathroom “because of what Ms. Baker looks like and because they are in a lesbian relationship,” the complaint states. When they objected and showed Baker’s driver’s license, which indicated she is female, the guard threw them out of the hotel.
The lawsuit alleges the hotel “panicked” when the pair complained about the experience on social media and that executives “agreed to craft a defamatory statement, knowing it was false, suggesting that Ms. Baker and Ms. Victor were kicked out of the Liberty Hotel because they had been engaging in obscene conduct in a stall.”
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“The intent of the statement was to humiliate, intimidate, and defame Ms. Baker and Ms. Victor in retaliation for their complaint,” the suit continues. The hotel later walked back its initial comments, announcing it had suspended the guard and ordered mandatory retraining for staff.
Baker and Victor are suing the hotel for discrimination, retaliation, civil conspiracy, and defamation. They’re seeking damages in excess of $10 million.
In a statement, General Manager Mark Fischer said the Liberty Hotel has apologized to Baker and Victor “several times” and spent months working with the state’s discrimination commission “to address what occurred and strengthen its practices.”
“We’ve been candid that we can do better, as it has been and remains that all guests should feel welcome at the Liberty Hotel,” Fischer added. “We recognize that they have a right to bring a lawsuit, but we unequivocally deny discriminating or retaliating against them in any way.”
But despite the hotel’s apology and MCAD settlement, a lawyer for Baker and Victor told Boston.com in November the women are still trying to figure out who made the false claims against them, and why. Kesten did not respond to a request for comment Friday.
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“They have lied repeatedly,” he said in November. “The hotel attacked Ansley and Liz for malicious reasons to cover up the guard’s wrongdoing. They attacked them with a statement that had to be signed off by executives, and we will put those names out once we get them as to who did this.”
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