This Gay Actor Was Told He Couldn't Kiss His Date At an LA Restaurant

By Andrew J. Stillman, CNN

On Monday night, out actor Drew Droege, known for his hilarious online impressions of actress Chloë Sevigny, went on what he describes as "a really nice date."

However, according to a post on his Instagram account, the nice date was met with a "really sad, hateful moment in the middle."

Droege and his unnamed date had a meal and drinks at the popular Mexican restaurant El Compadre in the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles where he noted both the food and the server were great. After they paid for their meal, they hung around for a while as they waited to catch a show downtown.

As they finished their drinks, Droege says and his date put their arms around each other and shared a couple of kisses. After being approached by a manager, Droege said they were told they weren’t allowed to do that, and after expressing confusion, were told, "This is a family restaurant."Casting a glance around the restaurant and noticing the straight couples doing the same thing, Droege asked if anybody had complained about their behavior.

It was here the manager "threw his hands in front of us and said, 'I don’t care if you’re the President of the United States, we don’t allow your behavior here.'"

Rightfully so, after promptly leaving, Droege had a few thoughts on the matter. Expressing shock that something like this could happen in Echo Park at 6:30pm on a Monday in 2022, Droege also noted the deeper impact of how situations like these affect members of the LGBTQ+ community.

"Ever wonder why gay people often seem nervous?" he wrote. "Why do we talk faster? Why do we work so hard to please others and be good little citizens in the world?"

After promising to never return and urging others to find another place to dine, too, Droege finished out the caption saying, "After this happened to us, we went outside and made out in their parking lot."

Shortly after Droeges' ordeal started to make the rounds online, El Compadre took to their official Instagram account to make a statement about the incident, claiming that they were investigating the matter and that they "stand with the LGBTQ+ community" and "hold no space for intolerance, hate, or unjust treatment of our beloved guests regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or status.""We have read all of your comments and concerns and we are looking into what happened Monday night at our Echo Park location," the statement read. "While we work to learn more, we want to make it clear we stand with the LGBTQ+ community and hold no space for intolerance, hate, or unjust treatment of our beloved guests regardless of race, ethnicity, age, gender, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, disability, or status. We were built off of the core value to do everything with love, and we will do what it takes to continue to warmly welcome any and every quest into a safe community."

The statement continued:

"Please give us time to seek out what happened, gather more information, and take appropriate action. We will update you soon. We love you and thank you for your patience while we work through correcting this."

This piece initially ran on Out.com, read the original story here.