THE backlash after a Perth nightclub tried to force female staff to wear more revealing t-shirts has continued with as many as three bands pulling out of performances at the venue.
Amplifier Capitol had wanted female staff to wear tight, low-cut t-shirts, but after being widely criticised the club scrapped the idea, allowing women to continue to wear a men’s cut t-shirt.
Melbourne band Storm The Sky, currently on its final tour before disbanding, was the first to pull out of a gig at the venue and will take its performance elsewhere, saying the safety of fans and everyone involved in the show was paramount.
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READ NOW“This is blatant sexism and puts women at risk, which is completely unacceptable and something we are vehemently against,” the band said on social media.
“We do not tolerate any such behaviour and want nothing to do with Amplifier Capitol moving forward.”
Due to play on Thursday, January 31, the band will now perform at The Civic Hotel in Inglewood.
It is also believed Perth metal band Make Them Suffer, booked to play at Capitol on Sunday, January 27, has moved its gig to the Rosemount Hotel, and New Zealand band The Beths has also shifted its planned gig at Amplifier Capitol on April 12 to Badlands Bar.
On Tuesday, club chairman David Heaton wrote a lengthy apology on social media after making what he described as a “throwaway comment” that staff who did not adhere to the proposed new uniform could leave.
“I would like to make clear that no staff have been, or will be, fired in relation to the uniform issue,” he said.
“I also respect the decisions of those who have departed the venue of their own volition in relation to this matter.”
Mr Heaton said the proposed changes to the uniform were made in poor judgment.
“There was a lack of awareness and understanding of the ways in which these new uniforms may be viewed, and how staff may feel wearing them,” he said.
“Comments that female staff already face sexual harassment as part of working within the nightclub industry, and that these uniform changes would only exacerbate the issue, have resonated with us.”