Coachella festival organisers have been accused of stopping two transgender siblings from using the restrooms that correspond with their gender identities.
Donavion ‘Navi’ Huskey and Taiyande ‘Juice’ Huskey claim that festival security denied them access to male and female bathrooms and instead directed to gender-neutral facilities when they attended the festival in 2018.
On Tuesday (26th of February), the Southern California branch of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) sent a letter on behalf of the siblings to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) and Goldenvoice, Inc., the festival organizers.
The letter claimed that the festival failed to comply with California law and threatened to take legal action if the festival fails to ensure its bathroom access policies comply with the law in the future.
Lawyers Amanda Goad and Stephen Hicklin, the legal team behind the letter, wrote: “Refusing people access to the restroom which corresponds to their gender identity constitutes a denial to the full and equal accommodations, advantages, facilities, privilege or services of a business establishment, California law is clear across various contexts that individuals have the right to access restrooms (and other gender-segregated facilities) in accordance with their gender identity.”
The allegation comes just months after it was revealed that Philip Anschutz, who oversees Coachella organiser, Goldenvoice, contributed $134,000 to the GOP in 2018.
Over the last several years, his private family foundation was found to be forking out hundreds of thousands of dollars into groups that promoted LGBTQ discrimination, climate denial, and other right-wing policies.
Coachella organisers are yet to respond to the allegations.
Photo via ACLU Southern California
