A Melbourne musician and publican has issued a public apology after coming under fire for displaying a sign inside of his venue that included the statement “no poofter drinks”.
As The Age reports, a patron at Handsome Steve’s House of Refreshments, a bar on Leicester Street in Fitzroy, took a photo of the sign over the weekend and shared it online.
The image spread like wildfire, with dozens of angry commenters leaving scathing online reviews of the venue and salvoing the bar’s official Facebook page with criticism.
“Using the word ‘poofter’ publicly is unlawful under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 and I’m considering legal action against this business,” wrote ‘Anti-Discrimination Activist’ Garry Burns.
The drinks menu displayed inside the bar, which is only open on weekends, listed “Lemonade of honour”, “No soy. No skinny. No tea”, and “No poofter drinks”.
The latter section saw the sign, which has been on display for several years, labelled as homophobic and “out of touch”, prompting Miller to issue an apology.
“I unconditionally apologise for any offence I have caused,” Miller wrote via Facebook. “If anyone would like to talk to me about it, please come down to the house of refreshment.”
Image via Fairfax
The sign has been removed following the controversy and Miller has denied reports an angry customer was kicked out of his venue after engaging in a heated discussion about the incendiary sign.
“There seems to be a miscommunication. No one was kicked out. I’m sorry if anyone thinks that was the case. Please come and talk to me about this as I am computer illiterate,” Miller wrote.
Interestingly, the controversy has also inspired a fair share of supporters. “I’m not going to be popular for saying this, but I’m a gay man. Frankly, your sign didn’t offend me,” wrote one commenter.
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“For what it’s worth, there’s just people out there who love being perpetually offended at absolutely everything… Don’t let them get to you mate. You’re alright in my books,” he added.
Miller is also the frontman for the Steve Miller Band or The SMB, who made headlines back in August after they were announced as part of the lineup for the upcoming Meredith Music Festival.
As Tone Deaf reported, the group was billed as the Steve Miller Band, leading many media outlets to report that the famous 1970s group of the same name was appearing at Meredith.
