Vancouver’s Penthouse Night Club has done it again.
It appears the strip club had its Instagram account taken down not because of nudity, but because of a statement on their sign.
The club’s marquee on Seymour Street was updated by Ben Jackson with one of his witticisms, calling out U.S. President Donald J. Trump’s “renaming” of Lake Ontario.
Can’t handle a post
The sign had a simple message, short enough for anyone to understand.
“Can’t handle a pool, but wants our lake?”
The Lake Ontario/Lake America spat is part of Trump’s trade negotiations with Canada. Ontario Premier Doug Ford responded with his own sign stating “Lake Ontario: Now and Always.”
Jackson’s sign also refers to the Washington reflecting pool debacle. For weeks, the pool at the Lincoln Memorial was filled with algae and became a national embarrassment for Trump, and cost millions to fix. Trump blamed “VANDALISM.” One person was charged, but the case was dismissed.
Penthouse owner Danny Filippone and Jackson talked about the sign before it was put up, had some giggles, and then Jackson put it up Friday afternoon (Aug. 28).
Filippone says he knew it was a hit right after it went up, as cars driving down Seymour honked and gave the thumbs up.
Social media post taken down
It seems not everyone is a fan, though.
“Around midnight, it’s like all the music stopped,” says Filippone. “I looked at the bartenders and asked what’s going on. They showed me their phone and said ‘Our Instagram has just got wiped out.'”
After putting the sign up, Jackson had posted a photo of the sign to the @Penthouse47 account with a caption reading “Make Lakes Ontario Again.” As of publication, the Penthouse account remains offline.
“It took six hours before someone, we assume on the other side of the border, to think it wasn’t funny,” says Filippone.
The Penthouse has some experience making sure their usual posts don’t cross the line.
“Running a strip club Instagram account is difficult enough,” Jackson tells Vancouver Is Awesome. “There are so many things you can get punished for these days, but I don’t think a funny sign should be one of them.”
Filippone says they’re careful not to break any of the rules one might expect a strip club to break.
“If you follow our Instagram, this sign would not be on your bingo card for what would get us taken down,” Filippone says.
He also says that the sign doesn’t name any names.
“It goes to show you what sort of tensions there are between Canada and the U.S.”
Small sign, big hit
The Seymour sign has been a popular sight in Vancouver for a few years now, with several of Jackson’s Penthouse marquees going viral.
The club went international last year for its “Forever Neighbours, Never Neighbors” sign, which also took a shot at Trump’s attacks on Canada.
That sign also got the Penthouse in hot water with a different social media platform when Twitter/X took down their account.
Filippone says the stated reason was “hate speech.” It took the Penthouse around a week to regain control of their account that time. That platform has left the Penthouse alone this time (so far).
The “Can’t handle a pool, but wants our lake?” might surpass “Forever Neighbours,” Filippone says, as far as popularity. He’s getting texts and emails of support.
“They appreciate that there’s a strip bar on Seymour Street of all the places fighting back,” he says. “It’s hard to believe, but it is what it is.”
He’s again surprised by the role the marquee has taken in Vancouver.
“Once again, it always amazes me how the Penthouse Night Club, that’s been there for 80 years, and how a sign on Seymour Street has become a part of Vancouver,” he adds.
In the meantime, Jackson is in contact with Meta, trying to regain control of the Penthouse Instagram account.
“I’m sure we will figure it out,” Filipone says. “In the meantime, the sign is proudly up there.”
Vancouver Is Awesome has reached out to Meta for more information on the take down.