Queer woman and girlfriend refused entry to Heaven in London during Pride for ‘not looking queer’

“Don’t go to Heaven in London if you look like me :)” 

Pride in London was controversially cancelled this past weekend due to safety concerns over COVID, but while there was no parade or official activity, it didn’t stop revellers heading to the city centre for ‘Pride’. 

Soho was packed with people determined to celebrate Pride in one way or another, which meant big bar queues and lots of people scrambling to get into venues so they could dance the night away (to Rain on Me natch) with their besties. 

One Tiktok user – a queer woman – posted over the weekend saying that she, her girlfriend and their two friends were refused entry to Heaven nightclub.

“If you’re a queer woman who doesn’t look like a queer woman, then don’t bother going to Heaven because I just got turned away on the grounds that I should go somewhere that’s ‘not associated with the gay community’ – on Pride.”

She continued: “So just don’t bother going to Heaven unless you’re a gay man.”

The video was then captioned: “I travelled for hours btw”

Heaven is one of the UK’s most famous LGBTQ+ venues and, as such, demand for entry is always incredibly high, with queues often stretching around the block.  When nightclubs reopened in the UK, so-called ‘Freedom Day’, Heaven was the venue that grabbed the headlines for attracting the big crowds.

Heaven’s door policy on its website reads: “Heaven reserves the right to refuse admission to those deemed to be wearing unsafe footwear, specifically high heels which could pose a safety issue for those wearing them. Heaven also reserves the right to refuse admission to those who are not G-A-Y members on its club events or who are not recognised as regular customers by staff”.

Of course, historically there has always been a just requirement to ‘keep gay venues for gay people’ – that’s what makes them safe spaces. However, the assumption that cisgender gay men are the only people who are out celebrating Pride… well, that’s a problem.