Update: June 11, 2014, Statement from Bistro 18

Update: June 12, 2014, Statement from Lambda Legal

WASHINGTON — Lambda Legal filed a complaint Tuesday in the Washington, D.C., Office of Human Rights on behalf of a transgender woman who was given a restaurant receipt with an anti-LGBT slur printed on it while socializing with friends at a local hookah bar.

Amira Gray says she went to Bistro 18 in the District’s Adams Morgan neighborhood on August 11, 2013 with eight friends. The group seated themselves and eventually had to approach the bar to order, while other tables were being served.

During the evening, the server came to the party’s table only once to deliver the hookah machine the group had ordered at the bar.

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According to the complaint , at the end of the night, the bartender dropped off the check, which had the words “GAY BITCHES” printed where the customer’s name would be written.

When one of Gray’s friends approached the manager to bring this to his attention, the manager snatched what he thought was the offending receipt out of the man’s hands and printed a new receipt without the slur on it. However, Gray’s friend kept the original receipt and captured photos of it.

“When my friends and I saw the receipt, we were humiliated and embarrassed,” Gray said. “We went in planning to enjoy Bistro 18 just like everyone else in the hookah bar that evening, but it turned into a disturbing experience. I am standing up for my friends and me because I don’t think anyone should have to go through that.”

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