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Nonbinary actor Wesley Han, who has appeared in Russian Doll, Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens and Power Book II: Ghost, filed a discrimination lawsuit against New York’s Soho Grand Hotel on Wednesday.
In the complaint, Han alleges that while attending a private event at the hotel on March 5, they attempted to use the women’s restroom while wearing “women’s slacks, heels, earrings, a purse, and a Dion Lee blazer — an elegant, unmistakably feminine-coded outfit that reflected Wesley’s style, identity, and confidence.”
Han further claims that, while they were in a private stall, a security guard entered and asked the women present, “Excuse me, ladies, have you seen a man enter?” Han claims that, after the security guard was told “no,” he entered the restroom anyway, walked to Han’s stall, and instructed the actor to “Come on out of there.”
Han says they acquiesced and were even denied their request to wash their hands. Instead, security allegedly escorted the actor to the men’s room to clean up. Han says that they “suffered humiliation, embarrassment, emotional distress, mental anguish, and other compensatory damages in an amount to be determined at trial.”
“What was supposed to be a fun and memorable evening instead turned into a deeply humiliating and distressing ordeal,” the complaint reads.
In a statement to Entertainment Weekly, the Soho Grand Hotel said that they are “committed to full compliance with all federal, state and city non-discrimination laws, including those protecting individuals on the basis of gender and sexual orientation.” The statement continued, “We have always been a safe space for the LGBTQIA+ community since our inception. But we cannot comment on pending litigation.”
Part of Han’s legal complaint includes a comment on their nonbinary identity.
“As a queer, non-binary individual, Wesley Han has long navigated the world with an awareness that their gender identity and presentation may not conform to others’ expectations,” the complaint reads.
New York City law has forbidden discrimination against an individual on the basis of gender identity or expression, including denial of access to restrooms, since 2002, per the city’s website. The New York City Human Rights Law currently encompasses many types of gender discrimination, including failing to use a person’s preferred pronoun, imposing different uniform standards based on gender, and refusing to allow an individual to utilize single-sex facilities.
“The NYCHRL requires that people be permitted to use single-gender facilities, such as restrooms or locker rooms, and to participate in single-gender programs, that most closely align with their gender, regardless of their gender expression, sex assigned at birth, anatomy, medical history, or the sex or gender indicated on their identification,” the statute reads. It also requires entities that have gendered restrooms to “make clear that they can be used by people of all genders.”
Aside from acting, Han also works as a writer. Per their website, they focus on “stories that show women, people of color, and queer/trans folx living their best damn lives.”
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