An east Windsor ice cream parlour has changed its policy regarding photos on cakes after it was accused of transphobia.
Britt Leroux decided to order a cake with a photo of drag queen "Jimbo" on it for her husband's birthday.
(Photo of "Jimbo" via Twitter)
"I talked to a female worker first -- and she kind of said to me, 'what's a drag queen? Is that like a transvestite?' I tried to explain myself and she said, 'oh no, we don't do that stuff here.'" recounted Leroux of the first phone conversation she had with the staff at T-Bears Creamery.
When she called the second time, she asked to speak with the manager.
"I knew it was wrong, and that's when I started recording," continued Leroux, who later posted a video of the conversation on Facebook and YouTube.
During the three-minute video, Don Moore is heard saying he would refuse to make a cake for pedophiles too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54L1V8V0qbk
"I just don't understand how you can make a comparison," said Leroux. "I don't understand this basic lack of knowledge."
BlackburnNews.com reached out to Moore, who said he was not calling trans people child molesters, but there are many circumstances under which the store would not comply with a request.
"Let's say somebody's at a party, and they get a little drunk, and they go running around naked, and they get a bunch of photos, and they say, 'let's put this on the cake,'" he explained. "You know what? We don't do that."
He insisted the identity of someone is not the issue, but as a family-oriented business, they will not use "sensual photos."
He also said Leroux was never denied service.
"If they send us the photo, we look at it," said Moore. "We never did receive the photo."
Leroux said at no time was she asked for a photo of Jimbo.
Britt Leroux, her husband John, and daughter. (Photo via Leroux's Facebook page)
"I have friends whose homes have been targeted. I have friends who I know have been beaten," she said. "The things that these people go through on a daily basis, they have to fear for their lives, and that's why for the first time in my life, I decided to stand up for something."
The incident has prompted a business to revisit its policy regarding photos, and Moore said going forward, it will not offer those on cakes.
"Here's what happens when you do photos like this," he explained. "Then it gets out there, 'oh, they'll do that.' The next one comes in, and it's something even further off the chart, and the next one is further off the chart for what we would want to do. Then you're into more debates. And you're into, 'well, why you did this for them? Why won't you do this for us?"
The incident prompted a statement from Trans Wellness Ontario, which provides support to trans individuals and their families in Windsor-Essex.
"This type of hate and bigotry has no place in our Windsor community," read the statement. "Over the past several months, we have seen a sharp increase in the number of hate crimes that have taken place -- When microaggressions, harassment, and inappropriate conduct are not called out, it is one step closer to a hate crime. It is a clear rejection of human dignity and contributes to the dehumanization of our community."