Comedian Mitchell Coombs has recounted how he was confronted in the toilet of a popular Sydney venue by a group of men who accused him of being in the “wrong bathroom”.
Coombs shared his experience on his popular podcast Is It Just Me?
The comedian shared with his co-host Mitch Churi that he’d recently been at The Wharf bar in Manly and had gone into the public toilet. Moments later a group of men were allegedly banging on the door questioning his gender.
Coombs recounted that he’d was inside one of the cubicles when suddenly there was a banging on the door. Coombs said he opened the door where a man, accompanied by some friends questioned his gender.
“He goes ‘Mate – I think you’re in the wrong bathroom.'”
Coombes asked the man what he meant, and he responded, ‘The women’s bathroom’s down there mate!”
“I said no-no I’m in the right one.”
The comedian said on reflection he regretted how he’d responded to the aggressive questioning of his gender, because he offered to show prove that he was male.
“That’s not very woke of me, because you don’t need a penis. If you identify as a male and don’t have a penis you can still use the male bathroom.”
After closing the cubicle door Coombs said he was subjected to violent banging on the door and a spray of transphobic slurs, and the man in question allegedly suggested Coombs was transgender and would want to sexually assault him.
Coombs thought he was going to face a physical altercation but when he emerged from the cubicle the man and his friends had already left.
The comedian said the man’s tirade had confused him, leaving him wondering if his long hair and made the man think he was a transgender woman who should be using the female bathroom, or if he thought he was a man who is transgender.
“I couldn’t make sense of the abuse.” Coombs said. After the incident Coombs and his partner reached out to the venue but never got a response to their concerns about safety.
Coombs and Churi said the incident was a reminder that there are people who take it upon themselves to police bathrooms and act aggressively.
OUTinPerth contacted the Wharf Bar where a staff member told us they were aware of the incident and would consider if they wanted to make any comment. We have not heard back from them.
Graeme Watson, OUTinPerth has reached out to Mitchell Coombs for comment.
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