<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A new gay nightclub on Sydney's Oxford Street has been forced to change its name after backlash from the community.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Kevin Du-Val and Michael Lewis, the respective owner and manager of the popular gay club Palms, were set to open the doors to the multi-level Pink Pony in early December.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a social media post announcing the move, they said the name was "unashamedly inspired by its namesake song that resonates so profoundly within our community", referencing </span><em><span>Pink Pony Club</span></em><span> by lesbian singer Chappel Roan. </span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/victoria-news-screen-time-to-be-limited-in-schools-to-90-minutes-per-day/fcb314dc-0508-4a2f-b1d6-984716dfbb4f" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Screen-time limit, new device rule for primary students in one state</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But Du-Val and Lewis began receiving criticism after marketing Pink Pony "specifically" for gay men aged 18 to 35. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In line with our experience and our passion Pink Pony is being 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 that is theirs to enjoy," the pair said in a since-deleted social media post.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In an interview with </span><em><span>Gay Times</span></em><span>, Lewis added that women would be welcome but "our desire that it is predominantly gay boys, and when I say predominantly, I'm sort of talking 90 per cent plus".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/sydney-oxford-street-pink-pony-gay-club-forced-to-change-its-name-after-community-backlash/2b89f08c-cbdf-4fa0-bc71-3a9ff002b2b2" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Obviously, we've got legal hurdles … in terms of how much we can vet the crowd while still complying with the law."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Sex Discrimination Act considers the exclusion based on gender identity or sexual orientation as unlawful discrimination, but the Australian Human Rights Commission can grant some temporary exemptions from the rule.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This is usually determined on a case-by-case basis following a set of criteria and guidelines.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/missing-boy-gus-lamont-update-search-efforts-cut-short-due-to-heat/927c1e04-8566-456f-8f4a-a2b469687974" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Third day of renewed search for missing boy finds no new evidence</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>People have taken to social media to complain about Pink Pony's name and door policy, saying it was ironic and exclusionary.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Appropriating lesbian culture for your own money/benefit for gay men ... This had the potential to be so great for our community and for Oxford Street. Sad," event organiser Heaps Gay said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"So it's gay men only, but the name of the club is a song by a female lesbian pop star? Oh, I fear they missed the mark with this one," one user said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Why would you name a club after a hit song by a lesbian pop star, and it's not a lesbian bar?" another said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>This week, Du-Val and Lewis changed their social media handle to "new name coming soon" and apologised for "any hurt or offence" they caused.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"In our excitement to announce the launch of our new venture, our first thought was to let those in the community we envisioned would be the core clientele know we were building something for them, in hindsight our communication was clumsy and very poorly worded," the pair said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE: </span></strong><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/crypto-atm-crackdown-to-combat-crime-rings/934765df-1bea-42bd-891d-4a26d21c4c01" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Crackdown on crypto ATMs to combat money laundering</span></strong></a></div></div><div><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5), 0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px auto;max-width:440px;padding:0;width:99.375%"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DP2aYQqARup/"></a></blockquote></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Clearly the choice of 'Pink Pony' as a name was also an error of judgement given Chappell Roan's well deserved reverence with queer women.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We can see the issue with using the song name as inspiration for what was expected to be a predominately gay venue.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have taken the time to see from the perspective of others in our community, and see that we appeared arrogant and selfish, for that, we are sorry."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Du-Val and Lewis added that all members of the LGBTQI+ community would be welcome in their new club.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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