It’s that time of year where your workplace might be looking to throw a Christmas party for you and your colleagues, and where better to host a fun festive gathering than at Camden’s Proud Galleries? (Who could forget our interview with Proud legend Ayesha Hussain earlier this year?).
A major international car dealership was clearly thinking along the same lines when they decided to book their Christmas party at Proud Camden this year, but then they brainlessly followed up their booking with this email asking if the venue was a gay bar, because “it’s against some people religion”:
Owner Alex Proud fired back with a devastating e-mail knock out blow:
The cancellation will cost Proud “several thousand pounds”, but Alex — living up to his namesake — simply does not care.
I was relieved to get that email because I wouldn’t have wanted those people in my venue anyway. They are a dealership for an international car brand. They would undoubtedly be in very serious trouble if I’d been minded to name them. They wouldn’t have been an official dealership for long.
Proud Cabaret is a cabaret club so it’s absolutely full of queens, 30% of my staff are gay! It’s an extremely fun, vibrant, incredibly gay-friendly place. I’m proud that many of my staff represent all sorts of minorities.
The exchange quickly went viral on Twitter, where most were happy to big Alex up over his decision.
@AlexanderProud I’m a bit disappointed you didn’t surprise them with a entire troupe of Village People lookalikes.
– Paul Moloney (@oceanclub) December 5, 2014
@AlexanderProud So much love for you over this. Businesses have values, not an universal service obligation.
– Matthew Plummer (@mwyp) December 5, 2014
@AlexanderProud @CuriouslyEmily can’t move for gay tables and chairs either. Wouldn’t want them to catch it.
– Tom [PositiveLad] (@PositiveLad) December 6, 2014
This guy wasn’t though:
@hipstercon @obamuh @Popehat religious customers very welcome. not homophobic idiots hiding behind religion to mask feeble bigotry
– Alex Proud (@AlexanderProud) December 5, 2014
Almost as funny as the time an anti-gay campaigner’s wife left him for another woman.
