Whataburger has apologized to a drag queen who claimed she was denied entry to an Austin Whataburger because she was dressed in drag.
Erika Klash – who appeared in the second season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula – shared that she was denied service at a Whataburger on Guadalupe St in Austin at approximately 11pm on Saturday.
‘I was just refused service at a Whataburger in Austin, Texas, because I was in drag,’ Klash wrote on both Facebook and on Twitter.
Erika Klash – who appeared in the second season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula – shared on social media that she was denied entry to an Austin Whataburger
‘Manager didn’t want me to enter and security blocked me from entering without citing any company policy. I am a professional artist, NOT a security threat.
The San Francisco based queen, known for her bright yet ghastly drag creations, had been performing at the 2019 Austin International Drag Festival in the queer-friendly city.
Klash – who identifies as Gender Non-conforming but uses she/they pronouns when in drag – claims that she was refused entry into the eatery, adding that a reason was not provided to her.
‘Its hard for one not to wonder WHY all of that is happening,’ she said. ‘As a queer person, It’s also hard to feel safe in those moments.’
‘I was just refused service at a Whataburger in Austin, Texas, because I was in drag,’ Klash wrote. ‘Manager didn’t want me to enter and security blocked me from entering without citing any company policy. I am a professional artist, NOT a security threat
She posted photos of her look from the night and from her enjoying food from another Whataburger location.
Klash modeled her look after the Danganronpa video game character Monokuma, as she is known for often doing looks based off anime, video game and manga characters with a horror twist.
Her posts prompted a response from Whataburger on both her Facebook and Twitter.
‘We apologize you had a bad experience at Whataburger,’ the restaurant said in a statement.
The San Francisco based queen, known for her bright yet ghastly drag creations, had been performing at the 2019 Austin International Drag Festival in the queer-friendly city
Klash modeled her look after the Danganronpa video game character Monokuma, as she is known for often doing looks based off anime and manga characters
‘We love all of our customers & we are investigating the circumstances surrounding this unfortunate incident.
Klash would share several updates on her page, including that she had spoken with a representative from Whataburger about the incident.
‘They apologized, recorded my statement on the incident, and are currently investigating,’ she said. ‘I am told the investigation will be completed this week.’
Her posts prompted a response from Whataburger on both her Facebook and Twitter
The performer added: ‘I REALLY want to believe that this was all a misunderstanding, but at this moment I cannot be certain. Hopefully this investigation will shed some light.’
Klash said on Facebook that she annually attends the festival and holds the city to a special place in her heart.
‘I was told that a local ordinance in Austin protects LGBTQ folks from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression,’ Klash shared. ‘However it seems that the question of whether this refusal of entry/service was in violation of that ordinance in particular still remains.’
Klash would share several updates on her page, including that she had spoken with a representative from Whataburger about the incident
Klash has since returned back to her home in San Francisco and reports feeling ‘safe, heard and supported.’
She concludes: ‘There are still PLENTY of (that’s an understatement) other queer people in this country and in the world living and existing in the face of CLEAR and CONSISTENT discrimination, persecution, and hate. Let’s all do what we can to support THOSE folks.’
In an interview with the DailyMail.com, Klash shared that Whataburger called her after completing their investigation
In an interview with the DailyMail.com, Klash shared that Whataburger called her after completing their investigation.
She says that while the company apologized and were empathetic, they claimed that there was no real evidence of ‘discriminatory intent.’
‘They did concede that the issue was mishandled by staff,’ she added.
Klash said that when she and her friend went to another location, the manager there told them that the chain does have a policy against wearing mask on the premises.
‘I was wearing makeup and their mask policy was irresponsibly applied to my issue,’ she added. ‘There was no proper assessment, no mention of policy and we were not made aware of anything.’
She claimed that the company did share plans for ‘clear deliverables,’ including plans to adjust their staff placement and institute training that properly addresses this particular issue.
‘It was really important that I speak out about this because I wanted to make these commitments public and we need to continue to hold them accountable,’ Klash added.
And while she has been hit with a number of negative comments since coming forward with her story, none of them have stopped her from continuously speaking on the issue.
‘It has not deterred me from the goal to stand up for myself, the drag community and other queer people,’ she said.