Houston Woman Asks Venue Worker Where The Restroom Is. Then He Takes Her Down A Dark Hallway

When Maddie Koenig asked an employee for directions to the bathroom at a packed holiday party in Houston, she expected a quick point in the right direction, not a detour into an employee-only corridor.

In a TikTok video that has resonated with viewers concerned about women’s safety, Koenig (@maddiekoenig) recounts how a male staffer at The Corinthian led her away from a restroom that was only steps away.

First of all, The Corinthian is stunning and massive, looking like something out of a movie. It has a colonnade of 24 soaring Corinthian pillars (thus the name), elaborate marble floors, and a stunning suspended bi-cameral staircase. It has a grand hall and a surrounding mezzanine.

Everything from corporate holiday shindigs and weddings to opening-night dinners for the Houston Grand Opera and the Houston Symphony Orchestra, to mayoral galas and Super Bowl extravaganzas with brand partners, takes place there.

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She recounted the event in a short clip.

“Last night, I went to a holiday party with my boyfriend that probably a thousand-plus people were at,” she began. “I stopped and asked an employee where was the nearest bathroom. The employee proceeded to take me down a hallway and through a door that only employees were behind. He starts walking me back there, and I get this feeling like I'm not supposed to be back here.”

Fortunately, a woman appeared.

“A female employee was like, ‘Hey, what are you doing?’,” she recalled. “I said, ‘Oh, he's showing me where the bathroom is.’ She said, ‘No, no, no. The nearest bathroom is out here.’ She takes me back to literally feet away from where I had originally asked.”

What Koenig then realized gave her chills.

“There was a bar area, and then a hallway with doors that I couldn't see,” she said. “The bathroom was literally right there, and I was in front of the bar area where I asked him. Instead, he had taken me down a different hallway and into an employee-only area, where she was the only woman I saw back there. It was just him and another man, and another man.”

Koenig said she eventually found her boyfriend during this event. But the entire situation gave her great uncertainty.

“I just can't help but wonder: What would have happened if that lady wasn't there and told me to stop?” she asked. “Maybe I'm making something out of nothing, but always trust your gut.”

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“That is so scary! I’m glad that lady saw/saved you!” said one commenter. Another person wrote,

“There’s so many weird and shady spaces in Houston. I’ve seen some strange things, but nothing this overt, so glad you’re safe.”

One woman wanted a little more information: “Trust your gut! Girl, you kept following him until someone said something. What did he say?”

Koenig responded, “He didn’t say a word!” He looked at her and then kept walking when I said he was showing me to the bathroom, and then I turned to go with her and didn’t look back.”

A 2024 survey in Injury Prevention found that 61% of United States concertgoers say they've experienced some form of sexual misconduct at live music events. Among women specifically, as the case here, 82% of women reported experiencing sexual harassment or assault at a live event.

In a large-scale operation in Houston, more than 80 potential victims of human trafficking were rescued from nine Houston-area nightclubs. Investigators said the clubs had hidden rooms and trap doors at the locations.

Despite these venues not having the scale of The Corinthian, they show how back-of-house areas can be used to exploit vulnerable individuals.

Patch has reached out to Koenig via TikTok comment and to The Corinthian via email.

@maddiekoenig