Michael J. Cohen, the prominent New York City gay nightlife promoter and owner of NYC gay bar Motel 23, has been accused by nine men of sexual misconduct ranging from groping to assault. He’s also been accused of discriminatory business practices, including racist door policies.
The allegations outlined in an extensive NBC News report describe Cohen as someone who for years has abused his position in the nightlife scene to pressure young, gay men into sex. Cohen denies all charges.
Several of the men say Cohen promised them job opportunities or access to his exclusive parties in exchange for sex or sending explicit photos.
One of the accusers, Stephen Carlstrom, told NBC that in 2017, when he was 21, “Cohen, who was 40 at the time, promised him a lucrative gig attending parties and then pressured him to perform oral sex. The job opportunity never transpired.”
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Another accuser who requested anonymity, “J.”, said that when he was an 18-year-old NYU freshman, “Cohen persistently pushed for a picture of J.’s penis, threatening that he would blacklist J. and his friends from all gay clubs in New York if he refused.”
“I thought, ‘Oh, my god, this guy has so much power, this guy has so much control — he’s really going to prevent me and my friends from going to any gay club ever again,'” J. said.
Others shared stories of being groped and fondled by Cohen at his parties, and one unidentified man said that in 2021, when he was under 21, “Cohen poured him two to three drinks at Motel 23, the popular gay bar Cohen owns in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood,” and that “he soon had trouble keeping his eyes open and his head up.”
“Cohen led him to a private space in the bar” despite his objections, the story said, where he allegedly “unbuttoned his pants and touched his genitals.”
“Swatting Cohen’s hands away is the last thing the man remembers before waking up the next morning alone on the curb of a Manhattan street, lying between two parked cars, he said.”
NBC says it corroborated many of the accounts by speaking with “witnesses, partners or friends who said the men had told them of the encounters afterward,” and that “three of the nine men provided screenshots of private conversations they had on social media with Cohen in which Cohen repeatedly asked the men to have sex with him or asked for explicit photos.”
The flood of accusations began after an anonymous Instagram account called @mymotel23reality was created last month.
The account’s creator also spoke to NBC, saying he visited Motel 23 for the first time in June. When he and his friend met Cohen at the door, the man, who is white, says the promoter was going to let him in for free but charge his friend, who is Black, a $250 cover.
“You’re going to want to let us in for free or else I will shut down your club,” the man recalled saying. He said Cohen replied, “I’d like to see you try.”
Several other people said that door staff at the bar, and at Cohen’s events, regularly treated white men better than women and people of color.
While Cohen is the majority owner of Motel 23, he opened it with financial help from director Bryan Singer, who has faced his own allegations of sexual misconduct for years.
Oh, and for the record… the bar is now closed.
UPDATE: After this post was published, Queerty received an emailed statement from Alafair Hall, a spokesperson for Cohen:
“Mr. Cohen adamantly denies these allegations that are clearly the result of an anonymous online smear campaign started by people who could not gain entry into his nightclub. In his years of hosting parties, Mr. Cohen has never engaged in any sexual activity that was not unmistakably consensual. NBC News blatantly ignored evidence contradicting the false claims.”
Invader7
CREEP.. He’s his own worst enemy. SUPER self destructive. He’ll be popular in prison.
CatholicXXX
Took you guys a while. Didn’t think you would bother with this.
Gen-Z have become willing participants. They know about the shady stuff, the me too, and yet they still take part in this because of the gifts, and trips.
BEARY FLINTSTONE
The racist door policies have been going on for years. But this dude is a creep. And needs to be prosecuted!
StuC777
Powerful nightlife producer? Really? As a “consumer” of gay NYC nightlife for 40 years and counting, I have never heard of this guy or this bar. They don’t post anything in Thotyssey, the daily gay nightlife guide. Judging from the comments, though, I’m not missing anything.
BigJohnSF
wow look at all the bars in Brooklyn these days – I lived in NYC from 1980-2007, and I don’t think there was a single place in Brooklyn that whole time.
Kangol2
Uh, BigJohnSF, you never stopped by Starlite Lounge or Club Langston, both of which are now closed but were open in Brooklyn for years?
Capawok
ANYONE UNDERSTAND WHAT “NO” MEANS ?
GIVE ME A BREAK BOYS.
North Of Boston
“I thought, ‘Oh, my god, this guy has so much power, this guy has so much control — he’s really going to prevent me and my friends from going to any gay club ever again,’”
LOL…..please…..the drugging, the racist door policies, yeah, all that is horrible, this dude is obviously an asshole, but the rest of this stuff – asking for sex on social media or requesting nude photos….wow…welcome to every single day of the modern age guys……..before you try to win a lawsuit against this guy go wipe your dick pics off your Grindr accounts…..and get a burner phone to boot so your history can’t be retrieved……
CNY1983
right?
im devasted, now ill never go to any gay club ever again.
bachy
Wish I had a nickel for every time someone grabbed my badonkadonk at a bar.
ta2t2o
Right….””I lied to get into a club underage….but I’m totally not lying about the rest of this.”
monty clift
Sounds like some of them got duped and now want revenge, if those gigs went through I’m sure none of them would be “speaking out” about any of this.
humble charlie
boy o boy, those gay guys are something else. of course this never happens with heterosexual males.
Godabed
Is this a story about heterosexual, on a heterosexual news page. No. Your statement makes no sense at all. Girl Bye.
humble charlie
hey, godabed, look up the definition of irony. what a knucklehead.
Kangol2
Looks like this racist, manhandling troglodyte will finally pay for what he’s allegedly been up to for a while!
Ken A.
If the job or parties happened would they still be complaining. Something is amiss.
ShiningSex
Maybe for the ones who’d do anything for a lousy job, but for the ones that resisted him and his racism. That’s a different story and hopefully gets what he deserves.
inbama
They sell themselves cheap and then cry “MeToo.”
As Bela Lugosi said in The Island of Lost Souls, “are we not men?”
ShiningSex
Maybe for the one that did what he did JUST to get a job. However the others that resisted him are not in the same boat as the one that got on his knees for a stupid job.
CityguyUSA
It’s Studio 54 all over again.
ShiningSex
It’s gross what he did, but it is equally gross that some people will do sexual things JUST to get a stupid job. If you say “no” then that is sexual assault. If you decide to get on your knees because you want a job, that’s your stupidity.
Hope he gets what’s coming to him for his gross behavior.
Stefano
Exactly!
DHT
If Bryan Singer was involved it sounds like these guys may have dodged a GHB bullet.
justclickhere
Let me guess…if he was hot, this wouldn’t even be a story because no one would be complaining lol.
ta2t2o
Guy lies to other guy to have sex…Shocking!