Windsor woman claims she was refused a cake order featuring drag queen
One local woman is calling on more education within Windsor-Essex after what she described as a simple request was shockingly refused.
Brittany Leroux turned to T. Bear’s Creamery on Tecumseh Road East, hoping they could create an ice cream cake that featured her husband’s favourite drag queen, Jimbo, from the show RuPaul's Drag Race.
“When I called to order I first talked to the female and I said I’d like to order a cake and the picture I’d like to put on it is a picture of a drag queen and she said, ‘what is that? Like a transvestite?’ And I said ‘no it’s a man who dresses up as a woman and performs, does anything, does stuff most people can’t do at all,” Leroux told CTV News.
After explaining what a drag queen is to a staff member, Leroux claims she was refused service.
“And she said we don’t do stuff like that here. I hung up the phone and I was shocked,” she says.
Leroux says she took some time to calm down and decided to call back to speak to a manager.
“I tried to ask him why the cake was refused and that’s when I started recording him and that’s when he started to group in drag queen with pedophiles,” she says. “That’s what blew my mind.”
“That was absolutely shocking I don’t understand how can you compare the two things. How can you compare criminals with beams of light? That’s what drag queens are to me they’re beams of light.”
“I was just kind of shocked and amazed of being what was going on and how he kind of refused and being homophobic which is not right and not acceptable,” Leroux’s husband John Reh says.
The ice cream shop is open on Sundays, and CTV News spoke with an employee who says she would pass along contact information to management, but as of newstime they have not commented.
“This type of hate and bigotry has no place in our Windsor community. Over the past several months, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of hate crimes that have taken place,” a news release from Trans Wellness says. “When microaggressions, harassment, and inappropriate conduct are not called out, it is one step closer to a hate crime.”
“My main thing is for him to be educated,” Leroux says. “I think it’s a lack of education is what causes hate in this world.”
She says she is not looking for an apology for herself, but for the LGBTQ+ community.
“Just to love everybody and be accepting and understanding,” Reh says. “When it comes down to it everyone is the same. Everyone needs friendship and companionship.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
LeBlanc says he plans to run in next election, under Trudeau's leadership
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
Sports columnist apologizes for 'oafish' comments directed at Caitlin Clark. The controversy isn’t over
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
U.S. vetoes a widely supported UN resolution backing full membership for Palestine
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Grandparent scam suspects had ties to Italian organized crime, police allege
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Health Canada to change sperm donor screening rules for men who have sex with men
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Cat found on Toronto Pearson airport runway 3 days after going missing
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
N.L. gardening store revives 19th century seed-packing machine
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.