Comment on Admiral Theatre sued by EEOC. Club failed to protect dancers from patrons, lawsuit alleges.

An Albany Park exotic dance club failed to protect dancers from “dangerous, harassing, and sometimes violent” behavior from customers, retaliated against a dancer who reported the harassment to her supervisor and discriminated against Black dancers by pushing them into less lucrative shifts, a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleges. The lawsuit, filed Thursday, alleges dancers at the Admiral Theatre experienced “frequent unwelcome touching” while at work including harassing and aggressive sexual behavior. Representatives for the Admiral did not respond to requests for comment Thursday. The club refused to take steps to protect dancers from the unwanted touching, the lawsuit alleges, even though the club nominally prohibited customers from touching dancers, and even when dancers reported the customers’ behavior to the club’s security staff or managers. The lawsuit also alleges the club discriminated against Black dancers, who were subject to appearance standards that the club did not enforce for white dancers.