CAPE CORAL, Fla. — A transgender woman said she felt worthless after being thrown out of a popular Cape Coral nightclub all because management said she used the wrong restroom.
A sign at the entrance of the Dixie Roadhouse warns people that if they’re racist, sexist, homophobic, or just a jerk, not to enter. Despite that, a group of LGBTQ friends who went to the club said they left feeling very unwelcomed after their transgender friend used the restroom.
Piper Ayers said it has taken years to figure out who she really is and said life as a transwoman has been difficult.
“You get laughed at…you get scoffed,” Ayers describes.
That’s why she surrounds herself with accepting friends.
“We decided to come on down here to Dixie to have a little fun,” she noted.
But that fun didn’t last long. Ayers said after she used the restroom, things quickly went wrong after security told her she had used the men’s restroom.
TJ Jackson was with her and said he questioned the security guards. He said the guards responded that they don’t allow men to use the women’s restroom, and Jackson tried to explain that Ayers identified as a female and she should be allowed to.
Ayers was wearing a crop top, skirt, and heels like many of the other women in the club.
“So we went and talked to the manager, and the only thing he could say is what it says on your ID,” Ayers recalled.
She has not legally changed her name and gender. Sean Kelliher had just met Ayers and had intervened with security and tried to explain.
“This is a woman, a trans woman, and you need to understand what that is. This is not a drag queen or a cross-dresser. This is a trans girl, and you need to treat her as a lady,” Kellier told security guards.
Ayers said despite the repeated attempts to explain, no one from the club was listening.
“The next thing you know, they grab a hold of me and start shoving me out the front door,” Ayers recalled.
Although Dixie Roadhouse was closed Friday, NBC2 did call management, and they made clear they did not want to comment on the allegations.
Piper said she is now left feeling humiliated.
“I just felt worthless. Like I wasn’t a person, or I didn’t have feelings or emotions. Just no respect,” she recalled wiping a tear from her eye and apologizing for emotionally breaking down.
NBC2 tried more than once to get some reaction from the Dixie Roadhouse, but no one would comment.
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