WORCESTER, MA—A pizza shop owner has apologized after catching flak for signs he hung outside the bathrooms in his restaurant.

To identify the two bathrooms at D'Acosta's Pizza Bakery on Millbrook Street in Worcester, owner Marc Felicio posted a picture of Bruce Jenner on the men's room door and Caitlyn Jenner on the women's room door, he explained on the company Facebook page. The post contained an apology, clearly referring to reaction from customers who were offended. "It was never our intention to ridicule a celebrity who, for many, is the face of the transgender community," said Felicio in a statement shared with Patch. "What we wanted to say is that we accept and welcome everyone regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation."

The bathroom signs, which have been up for 2 1/2 years, referred to famous transgender woman Caitlyn Jenner. Bruce Jenner, the Olympic gold-winning decathlete turned reality TV star revealed herself as a trans woman to Vanity Fair in 2015. Later that year, her gender change and name officially became Caitlyn Jenner.

The incident at D'Acosta's comes less than a week after Massachusetts voters overwhelmingly voted yes on Question 3 , which upheld the country's first statewide referendum on transgender protections that Governor Charlie Baker signed into law in 2016. Nearly 70 percent voted "yes" on the ballot question in Tuesday's election.



The law added the term "gender identity" to the list of groups protected against discrimination in places like hotels or stores, a list that now includes race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex disability and ancestry. The act relative to transgender anti-discrimination does not dictate language to be used to label a business's facilities, but protects the right of a person to use either bathroom.



>>>>These five towns voted against trans protections.

"Be who you are," said Felicio in a statement. "We meant it to be an 'in your face' challenge to the gender binary system and to narrow-minded individuals." The D'Acosta's post on Facebook drew hundreds of comments, with responders sparring on the issue. Some thought it a stab at humor not meant to be hateful; others, an insult to transgender people and a sensitive subject that shouldn't be joked about.

