A new Australian nightclub has faced backlash for aiming for “90% plus” male customers, despite taking its name from Chappell Roan’s lesbian anthem ‘Pink Pony Club‘.
Kevin Du-Val, the owner of Sydney’s Palms On Oxford, and its manager Michael Lewis, announced they would be opening a new bar in early December called PINK PONY, which they describe as “unashamedly inspired by its namesake song that resonates so profoundly within our community.”
However, they said the club has been created “specifically for 18-35 (state of mind) gay men who love to dance and get sweaty to high-powered dance music in a safe space.”
In an interview with Gay Sydney News, Lewis reiterated the demographic they are targeting, adding: “Of course, the girls will be welcome. But it would certainly be our desire that it is predominantly gay boys, and when I say predominantly, I’m sort of talking 90 percent plus.”
“Obviously we’ve got legal hurdles,” he continued, “in terms of how much we can vet the crowd while still complying with the law.”
Backlash was inevitable (and justified) considering Roan is an out-and-proud lesbian who wrote the synth-pop anthem from the perspective of a woman moving to Southern California to take a job as a dancer in a WeHo club, “where boys and girls can all be queens every single day.”
‘Pink Pony Club’ has also become one of the century’s most beloved queer anthems, particularly among lesbians and queer women. Using its success to create yet another space primarily for men is beyond tone-deaf.
One viral tweet read: “What the fuck do you mean they’re opening a gay club that is for gay men only, and they’ve named it after a CHAPPELL ROAN SONG.”
what the fuck do you mean theyre opening a gay club that is for. gay men only. and theyve named it after a CHAPPELL ROAN SONG.
— temmie 🛼 is a showgirl (@goodwitchlor) October 13, 2025
Another user highlighted the lesbian erasure and the critical role lesbians played at the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic: “They forget who fought their rights and who held them in hospitals when no one else would touch them.”
A third added: “As a gay man that’s so weird what the hell taking inspiration from a lesbian then saying they’re not allowed in like… Hello?”
Following widespread condemnation, which forced the club to turn off Instagram comments, Lewis told The Guardian Australia that the venue’s name will be changed.
“We acknowledge and respect the very passionate feedback from the wider community and it is clear that it’s best to move forward with a different name for the new venue,” he said.
The username on Instagram now reads: “new.name.coming.”
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