All Michael Garcia and his boyfriend Armando wanted was to have a nice relaxing couple’s massage at Joy Feet Spa in Naples, Florida.
But when spa manager Jerry Liu learned they were a gay couple, he turned them away, even though they had already paid for the massage online.
Speaking to NBC2, Garcia explains: “I was like, ‘Why?’ He was like, ‘Cause it’s female and male,’ and he just kept pointing to a poster on the wall for couples massages.”
But don’t just take his word for it. There’s video of the interaction.
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Posted by Michael Levenosa on Monday, March 4, 2019
Liu has since apologized, saying he never “meant to discriminate” against the guys. Um, except that he did discriminate against the men.
“I apologize,” Liu said on Facebook. “It’s my fault.”
He chocked it up to a cultural difference. In China, he claims, the word “couple” means a man and a woman, but he says he now understands being a couple isn’t limited to just opposite-sex partners.
Riiight.
“It doesn’t matter where he’s from,” Garcia says. “He’s here in America. He should know that that’s a thing. It’s normal. Treat everybody equally—black, white, gay, straight—it doesn’t matter. We’re human. We all came from the same thing.”
Chrisk
That was cute. The standard I no speaky english well excuse. He understood it perfectly well though. Hope they include the video on his Yelp page as well 😉
MISTERJETT
the spa is probably a hooker house and they new the men weren’t going to buy what they were selling.
rockland2u
i would imagine, his lawyer was much better at explaining it to him.
Gary Q VV
Shame on you, Liu! Don’t blame it on China’s discriminatory attitudes, there’re plenty of good old American born bigots who are just like Liu, too. This is why a progressive fight against the bigotry is necessary to gain true equality and freedom. Thank you to Michael Garcia and Armando for taking a stand and sharing your experience.
skie763
I cant help but thinking he was just trying to get more money out of them. He refered to the fact that two men cost more than a man and woman couple. He did shoot himself in the foot several times by saying couple means man and woman. I just dont think it was ment to be discrimination.
piriblue
He needs to be educated. It is shame that ignorance is not an excuse. You should really sue them. They will learn real quick.
Chipper
Shame, the supervisor did not understand the difference between couples, two people are a couple. be it male and female or male and male or female and female. Then said 2 males cost more. He can always go back to China
surfpenis
Did they get a refund???
LongIslandGayPhotos
I wonder if this”spa” is part of the sort of chain that was the real target of the investigation that caught what’s-his-name the football team owner?
desertguy
Why would a gay couple go to a straight massage parlor? Makes no sense to me.
inbama
And he’s ugly.
unreligious
Since when are massage parlors straight or gay? They are a massage parlor and should be open to anyone who wants a massage. I was the chef at a very high end spa on Fifth Ave, there were no straight massages or gay massages just massages.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
Another vile, noxious, pig!
Ironic thing is these businesses deny Gays service, despite the fact that we tend to be extremely generous tippers…..
batesmotel
Strange that a massage parlor would do this. A religious institution discriminating is pretty expected, but a massage parlor seems ironic.
GayEGO
Well! Jerry Liu must live and learn, this is America where Marriage Equality is the law of the land and we are couples, it does not matter if we are straight or gay!