Around New England

No Stripper Pole for Mayor Pete

January 19, 2020

Pete Buttigieg’s campaign cancelled an appearance by the candidate’s civil-law spouse at a bar in Providence, Rhode Island that caters to homosexuals and features drag queens because it has a stripper pole, according to the club’s owner.

Chasten Buttagieg, a man who is civilly married to Pete Buttagieg, was scheduled to appear Friday night, January 18 for a fund raiser at The Dark Lady, which describes itself as “an LGBTQ nightclub.”

The president of the Providence City Council had planned to endorse Pete Buttagieg at the event, sending out an announcement beforehand on social media:

But according to the club owner, campaign staff visited the establishment ahead of time and nixed the visit because of the stripper pole.

The owner says he declined a request to remove the stripper pole for the event, saying the pole has been there since the club opened and that the club is known for it.

The event was moved to a hotel.

A campaign spokesman released a statement acknowledging that the event was moved but declining to say why.

Buttagieg, a former mayor of South Bend, Indiana who polls in the top four among Democratic presidential candidates, is the first openly homosexual major candidate for president of the United States.

The club owner expressed disappointment:

One online commentator called the Buttagieg campaign’s decision “heteronormative, pathetic, and anti-sex work”:

The incident was reported by WPRI-TV Channel 12 in Providence, by GoLocalProv.com, and by The Providence Journal.