This is Pako Zolanski, a 25-year-old sales rep who recently met up with friends to celebrate one of their birthdays at a lounge in Marietta, Georgia. However, Pako, who uses they/he/she pronouns, was stopped at the door and ultimately denied entry for "not dressing his gender."
Pako's friends all start speaking at once, and some voices rising above the crowd say the lounge's actions are "unacceptable," to which the manager says, "I'm not gon' argue with y'all."
To add more context to the situation, BuzzFeed reached out to Pako, who said that, before the video began, they had approached the bouncer with their ID and were immediately told that they wouldn't be allowed in. "I asked him 'Why?' He said, 'You don't look like your ID.' I was so confused. I just took that photo. So I asked if it was my hair or my makeup, [and] he said, 'I cant let you in with the skirt on.'"
People in the comment section of Pako's video seem equally confused. Some pointed out that they look very different from their ID photo on any given day and have never run into this issue:
And others felt as though the ID photo was an excuse, because how Pako dresses would not have been fully displayed in picture:
BuzzFeed reached out to Monticello for comment, and we will update you if they respond.
Previously, the lounge released this public apology on Facebook:
"On behalf of the Leadership of The Monticello Restaurant and Bistro, we would like to issue a public apology to the woman involved in the incident at our entry, Friday night (1/14/2022). Our organization is built off of a diverse workforce and it is our intention to serve all of our customers and clients fairly at all times. We have served and provided top level entertainment to the Metro Atlanta area for over 30 years. We are known and respected in our industry for our open hiring policies, diverse entertainment activities, and our philanthropy which is directed to communities who are underserved. We are proud to have several members of the LGBTQIA community on staff with our company. Unfortunately, the incident that took place on 1/14/2022 did not represent the policies and procedure of our organization. Our policy states that one must be easily identified by their state issued identification at entry. Moving forward we are taking the following actions to ensure that aforementioned incident does not occur again:
1) The employee in question has received disciplinary action
2) Our organization will undergo Sensitivity training
3) Our organization will communicate to ALL STAFF our policies and procedures which reflect an open and welcoming environment for all persons
It is our goal to continue to serve the metro Atlanta community with entertainment, great food, and networking opportunities. It is our mission to provide an open and welcoming environment. We believe that all persons have the right to live their truth and should be respected as such. Again, we apologize for the unfortunate situation.
Many Thanks, The Monticello Management."