B.C. tribunal orders Kelowna bar to compensate drag performer
CTV
An LGBTQ2S+ bar in Kelowna has been ordered to pay a local drag performer $1,100 after it failed to compensate them for entertainment that was provided last summer.
An LGBTQ2S+ bar in Kelowna has been ordered to pay a local drag performer $1,100 after it failed to compensate them for entertainment that was provided last summer.
The drag dispute between Friends of Dorothy Lounge and Tyson Cook, who performs under the name Freida Whales, was settled by B.C.’s Civil Resolution Tribunal last week.
Tribunal member Sarah Orr found Cook was entitled to $800 for hosting eight Canada’s Drag Race Viewing parties at the bar between July 14 and Sept. 8 of 2022, plus another $300 for two karaoke nights they also hosted during that time.
The tribunal that the manager of the bar, who is referred to as "KL" in the ruling, verbally agreed to pay Cook $100 for each viewing party they hosted, on top of the $150 the performer earned for regularly running karaoke nights there.
Text messages from June 17, 2022 were provided to the tribunal as evidence, and show Cook asked if they’d be paid to host the viewing parties, to which KL responded “Of course I’d pay you extra.”
However, Cook told the tribunal that they only received a $100 cash payment for the first of nine viewing parties.
When Cook questioned KL about the payments over text, they were told the bar’s managing partner hadn’t approved the drag race viewing budget, according to the tribunal's decision.
