Latest news with #AnsleyBaker
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Hotel security guard is suspended after ordering a woman to leave the bathroom because he 'thought she was a man' and asked her to 'prove gender'
A hotel security guard who ordered a woman to leave a bathroom after she was wrongfully accused of being a man has been suspended. Ansley Baker and her girlfriend, Liz Victor, both biological women, said the guard entered the women's bathroom at a high end Boston hotel and demanded the former leave the stall she was using. According to the couple, Baker was inside one of the stalls while Victor waited at the sink when he entered. The security officer involved in the incident was being 'suspended from their position immediately' following the hotel's investigation. The hotel also said that the general manager was reaching out to the individuals involved, and that it was conducting 'mandatory retraining for all staff on inclusive practices and guest interaction protocols, with a particular focus on creating a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ + individuals'. The two women had been attending a Kentucky Derby party inside the hotel on Saturday when the incident happened. Speaking with CBS News, they said that their afternoon came to an end when security staff entered the women's restroom and asked them to prove their gender. Baker told the outlet: 'All of a sudden there was banging on the door I pulled my shorts up. I hadn't even tied them. 'One of the security guards was there telling me to get out of the bathroom, that I was a man in the women's bathroom. I said, "I'm a woman".' Other women waiting in the bathroom line reportedly called her a 'creep' as she was escorted out. Once back at the lobby, the couple were asked to hand over their IDs and asked to leave. Initially, the hotel said that 'several women' had alerted security on site to 'two adults sharing a bathroom stall'. The hotel had also claimed that one of the couple had put their hands on their security staff, which the couple denies. 'Once the stall door opened, and I'm the only one in there, it escalated further,' Baker told Boston News 25. 'I don't think that aligns with what they're saying.' In a statement on Tuesday, the couple said, 'We have not seen any public statement with an apology nor a retraction of their original claims to clarify that Ansley was the only one in the stall.' Baker and Victor said they came forward with their story hoping to make a difference. "We know we're not the only ones that face this kind of thing and just hope it doesn't happen again and that other people who go through this receive the same support," said Baker. They have alerted Boston Mayor Michelle Wu's office about their experience to prevent anyone else from a similar situation. The updated statement from the hotel said: 'In a reaffirmation of our values, the hotel is making a donation to a local LGBTQ+ organization that we have partnered with in the past, on International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT), on May 17. 'The Liberty Hotel is and always will be an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and a place where everyone is welcome and celebrated.'
Boston Globe
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Supreme Court backs Trump ban, but the harm goes far beyond the military
That is appalling enough. But state-sponsored cruelty towards trans people — or any minority — bleeds outwards, affecting other groups as well. It also hardens Americans' capacity to tolerate more cruelty. And no one can avoid the harm caused by all of that. A bathroom in a swanky hotel in a state that leads the nation on equal rights seems like an unlikely setting to illustrate all of this, but here we are. On Saturday, Ansley Baker and her girlfriend were at The Liberty Hotel in Boston to celebrate Kentucky Derby day. Baker — tall, with close-cropped hair — was in the bathroom, minding her own business, when other women there decided she looked insufficiently feminine and was in fact a man. They alerted security. A guard at the hotel — an actual man — went into the women's bathroom, banged on her stall door, and demanded that Baker show identification proving she belonged there. As she exited, other women in the bathroom called her a creep and told the guard to 'get him out of here.' Advertisement Baker and her partner eventually left the hotel in tears. 'It honestly just felt like my worst nightmare coming true,' she Ansley Baker. Pat Greenhouse/Globe Staff The hotel put the security guard on leave and issued a statement to say it 'is and always will be an ally of the LGBTQ+ community and a place where everyone is welcome and celebrated.' This is always where we were headed. Republicans' electorally useful obsession with trans people was of course going to mean that others who don't fit the stereotypes of what men or women look like would be targeted, too. And not just by party leaders, but by Americans who have bought into the hysteria and are just fine with its consequences. 'This administration is actively trying to create the people in that bathroom, who are doing their work for them,' said Jennifer Levi, senior director of transgender and queer rights at GLAD. Levi was one of the attorneys who argued the case that made Massachusetts the first state in the nation to recognize same sex marriage 22 years ago. For a while there, she saw a steady expansion of rights for LGBTQ+ people, including those in the military. Now she is representing 32 transgender service members and recruits Advertisement Levi is arguing that Tuesday's Supreme Court decision — issued in a different case challenging the ban — should Whether or not she prevails, there is the potential for much wider damage here, as Baker's experience shows. As Levi sees it, attacks on transgender people are a kind of test. 'If people can tolerate the cruelty done to transgender people, they can tolerate a wide range of cruelty against other individuals,' she said. 'You are transformed by living in a country that ... supports and endorses destroying the lives of people who are putting their lives on the line for you.' We have seen that transformation before, the gradual acceptance of escalating acts of cruelty, starting with a single, demonized minority. It never ends well. Globe columnist Yvonne Abraham can be reached at
CBS News
08-05-2025
- CBS News
Women confronted by security guard in Boston hotel bathroom file discrimination complaint
Woman says Boston hotel security asked her to prove gender after using bathroom Woman says Boston hotel security asked her to prove gender after using bathroom Woman says Boston hotel security asked her to prove gender after using bathroom A couple has filed discrimination complaints against the Liberty Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts after the two women were questioned for using the women's bathroom last weekend. Ansley Baker and her girlfriend Liz Victor say a security guard came into the bathroom, accused one of them of being a man, and then demanded to see their IDs to prove their genders. Complaints filed with Attorney General's office Baker and Victor told WBZ Wednesday night they have each filed discrimination complaints with the Massachusetts Attorney General's office. Ansley Baker and Liz Victor said they were confronted in the women's bathroom at the Liberty Hotel. CBS Boston The women say the hotel has still not retracted its original statement that suggested they were in the same stall, which the women deny. Baker and Victor were at a Kentucky Derby party at the Liberty Hotel on Saturday. In the bathroom, Baker said she was in one of the stalls while Victor waited for her near the sinks. "All of a sudden there was banging on the door," said Baker. "One of the security guards was there telling me to get out of the bathroom, that I was a man in the women's bathroom. I said, 'I'm a woman.'" Escorted out of bathroom Baker, who described the incident as "humiliating," said as she was escorted out of the restroom, comments were directed at her from other women waiting in line. The security guard involved in the incident was suspended on Tuesday, a day after the story aired on WBZ. Baker said she also plans to file a formal complaint with the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination. The hotel said all staff are being retrained "on inclusive practices and guest interaction protocols." The hotel is also making a donation to a local LGBTQ+ organization.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Woman Says Security Guard Kicked Her Out of Restroom and Asked Her to Prove Her Gender: 'Humiliating'
Ansley Baker says she was asked to show her ID to prove her gender after a security guard kicked her out of a bathroom stall at Boston's Liberty Hotel Baker tells PEOPLE the experience was "humiliating" and "horrible to go through," but says she's thankful for the support she's received since The Liberty Hotel has suspended the security guard and said it is retraining staff and donating to a local LGBTQ+ organization in the aftermath of the incident A Boston woman says she was kicked out of a hotel restroom and forced to show her ID to prove her gender after security accused her of being a man. Ansley Baker tells PEOPLE that she and her girlfriend, Liz Victor, were confronted by security at the Liberty Hotel in Boston while attending a Kentucky Derby party there on Saturday, May 3, as first reported by CBS affiliate WBZ. Baker, 28, says that the couple was confronted in the women's bathroom of the hotel when a security guard entered the facility and began "banging" on Baker's stall door while Victor, who was also in the bathroom but not using a stall, waited for her. "I hadn't even tied my shorts yet. I walked out and there was a security guard just standing in the middle of the bathroom right in front of my stall, telling me to get out, that I was a man in the women's room," she says. Baker, who was born a woman and identifies as a woman, says she was asked to show her ID to the security guard to prove her gender after she stepped out of the stall. She says that both she and Victor, 27, were "heated" over the request, but tells PEOPLE, "I gave him my ID because there's this huge guy standing there intimidating me in the bathroom." She and Victor left after the incident, but Baker says that on their way out of the bathroom, she was yelled at by other women waiting in line, who said things like, "Get him out of here." Baker says the whole experience was "humiliating," especially because it played out "in the bathroom in the middle of everyone." While she tells PEOPLE that she's not bothered by the "comments and weird looks" she sometimes gets while using the women's bathroom, she says she was shaken that the security guard "acted out on that." "Honestly, my worst nightmare came true," she says. Courtesy of Ansley Baker Ansley Baker (L) and her girlfriend, Liz Victor (R) Ansley Baker (L) and her girlfriend, Liz Victor (R) Related: In Their Own Words: Stars on Their Gender Identities In a statement shared with PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the Liberty Hotel said they "take this matter seriously" and have since suspended the security guard and are "conducting mandatory retraining" for staff about "creating a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ+ individuals." The hotel also pledged to donate to a local LGBTQ+ organization on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. In their statement, the hotel said that the general manager has reached out to both Victor and Baker, but Baker says only her girlfriend has been contacted. She tells PEOPLE that she has experienced "absolute radio silence." When contacted for a response to Baker's claim, the hotel did not immediately reply. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. While she says the experience at the Liberty Hotel was "really rattling," Baker says she's been met with "incredible" support — including from the Boston Mayor's Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement — since coming forward with her story, which she chose to share because "this isn't the first time this has happened, and unfortunately I don't think it will be the last." Baker says the experience was "horrible to go through," but adds that "everyone's support has just meant the world. I hope everyone gets that who has to go through something like this." Read the original article on People
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Yahoo
Woman Says Security Guard Kicked Her Out of Restroom and Asked Her to Prove Her Gender: 'Humiliating'
Ansley Baker says she was asked to show her ID to prove her gender after a security guard kicked her out of a bathroom stall at Boston's Liberty Hotel Baker tells PEOPLE the experience was "humiliating" and "horrible to go through," but says she's thankful for the support she's received since The Liberty Hotel has suspended the security guard and said it is retraining staff and donating to a local LGBTQ+ organization in the aftermath of the incident A Boston woman says she was kicked out of a hotel restroom and forced to show her ID to prove her gender after security accused her of being a man. ADVERTISEMENT Ansley Baker tells PEOPLE that she and her girlfriend, Liz Victor, were confronted by security at the Liberty Hotel in Boston while attending a Kentucky Derby party there on Saturday, May 3, as first reported by CBS affiliate WBZ. Baker, 28, says that the couple was confronted in the women's bathroom of the hotel when a security guard entered the facility and began "banging" on Baker's stall door while Victor, who was also in the bathroom but not using a stall, waited for her. "I hadn't even tied my shorts yet. I walked out and there was a security guard just standing in the middle of the bathroom right in front of my stall, telling me to get out, that I was a man in the women's room," she says. Baker, who was born a woman and identifies as a woman, says she was asked to show her ID to the security guard to prove her gender after she stepped out of the stall. She says that both she and Victor, 27, were "heated" over the request, but tells PEOPLE, "I gave him my ID because there's this huge guy standing there intimidating me in the bathroom." ADVERTISEMENT She and Victor left after the incident, but Baker says that on their way out of the bathroom, she was yelled at by other women waiting in line, who said things like, "Get him out of here." Baker says the whole experience was "humiliating," especially because it played out "in the bathroom in the middle of everyone." While she tells PEOPLE that she's not bothered by the "comments and weird looks" she sometimes gets while using the women's bathroom, she says she was shaken that the security guard "acted out on that." "Honestly, my worst nightmare came true," she says. Courtesy of Ansley Baker Ansley Baker (L) and her girlfriend, Liz Victor (R) Related: In Their Own Words: Stars on Their Gender Identities In a statement shared with PEOPLE, a spokesperson for the Liberty Hotel said they "take this matter seriously" and have since suspended the security guard and are "conducting mandatory retraining" for staff about "creating a safe and welcoming space for LGBTQ+ individuals." ADVERTISEMENT The hotel also pledged to donate to a local LGBTQ+ organization on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia. In their statement, the hotel said that the general manager has reached out to both Victor and Baker, but Baker says only her girlfriend has been contacted. She tells PEOPLE that she has experienced "absolute radio silence." When contacted for a response to Baker's claim, the hotel did not immediately reply. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. While she says the experience at the Liberty Hotel was "really rattling," Baker says she's been met with "incredible" support — including from the Boston Mayor's Office of LGBTQIA2S+ Advancement — since coming forward with her story, which she chose to share because "this isn't the first time this has happened, and unfortunately I don't think it will be the last." ADVERTISEMENT Baker says the experience was "horrible to go through," but adds that "everyone's support has just meant the world. I hope everyone gets that who has to go through something like this." Read the original article on People
