Harlem Restaurant Sued For Trans Discrimination: Reports

HARLEM, NY — A restaurant chain is facing a lawsuit regarding a Harlem restaurant staff's refusal to serve a group of transgender woman and a gender nonconforming person.

Deja Smith, Daniele Marino, Jonovia Chase, Jahmila Adderley and Valerie Spencer claim they were told the Texas Burgers & Chicken on Frederick Douglass Boulevard and West 116th Street was out of chicken when they attempted to order there on May 28, but a customer directly behind them had his order taken, according to multiple reports.

A video of the discriminatory behavior went viral in May after it was posted to Instagram by "Orange is the New Black" star Laverne Cox, the Daily News reported. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs argued that the Texas Chicken & Burgers staff "tried to oppress the self-expression of Deja, Mila, Dee, Jenovia, and Valerie," the Daily News reported.

The group announced it would be suing the fast food chain last week during a press conference outside the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, New York 1 reported.

"It's just not fair, honestly we didn't deserve that we just wanted to go and grab something to eat and go back to our apartment," Marino said, as reported by NY1.

Texas Burgers & Chicken staff insist that the May 28 incident was just a misunderstanding and that the group was given a full refund, the Daily News reported. The chain's official statement also echoed that interpretation of the night's events.

"We are confident that the situation was caused by an honest mistake made by the employee when stating that particular food items were sold out, and not the product of any intentional discriminatory treatment as is portrayed in the video," Texas Chicken & Burgers said in a statement released in May.

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