Headline Roundup • September 23rd, 2026
LGBTQ+ Members Boycott Lesbian Bar over Loosened Mask Mandate, 'Ableism'
LGBTQ Issues,Arts And Entertainment,Culture,Massachusetts,Cancel Culture,People With Disabilities,Diversity,Mask Mandates,Boycott
Summary from the AllSides News Team
"Last Ditch Bar" drew staunch criticism from its LGBTQ+ patrons in Massachusetts this month after partially revoking its KN-95 mask mandate.
The Posts: "It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional to try out typical club nights with themes/hosts/DJs full capacity," wrote Last Ditch on Instagram on Aug. 31. "Accessibility is a pillar of our mission, AND our mission is also to make the space work for everyone and everything radical, sometimes that's being wild!... We still give priority to public and private masked bookings… It is only after an outpour of feedback from our regulars, volunteers, and team that we make this addition."
The company issued an "Accessibility Update" in response to criticism two days later, stating, "Our diverse disabled immunocompromised team makes decisions by multiple open community meetings, feedback form review, & advice from intersectional business advisors/elders… People consent to varying risks every day to be in community, though we generally try to follow universal design." It added in the posts' caption, "We are sorry for our passive and dismissive tone."
How The Media Covered The Criticism: "The new policy was not received with love," quipped The Boston Globe (Left bias). Outlets across the political spectrum emphasized the sensational nature of the posts, with the Globe giving voice to responses such as, "I hope your venue gets firebombed for robbing my fellow immunocompromised people of their Saturday plans just to scrape extra revenue from ablists [sic]," and, "People like you kill disabled people in the name of your own leisure and convenience."
LGBTQ+ outlet Pink News (Left) contended that followers did not receive the apology post positively either, due to its lack of alt text that would've established accessibility for the visually impaired. Townhall (Right) more abrasively reported, "The online mob beat down the bar into issuing an apology, but that poured more fuel on the fire. Why? Because it didn't provide a way for the visually impaired to read it — I'm not kidding."
Outlets also said critics were unmoved by the bar's community meeting on Sept. 11, which Townhall called a "disaster." Pink News gave voice to the bar's owner, Jackie Matellian, who spoke of her ongoing financial struggles and said, "I never really wanted this," and, "I don't think I'm doing a very good job." The Globe gave voice to one commentator who called Matellian's emotional response "incredibly racist and deflecting behavior."
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
AP Photo/George Walker IV
This cannot be real life, but it is: a lesbian bar, Last Ditch Bar and Arts Venue, in Greenfield, Massachusetts, relaxed its masking rules on August 31, and all hell broke loose. You think you're reading a parody, but no. The owner was accused of being ableist and, at worst, a pure eugenicist. Some hoped the establishment would be firebombed for putting the immunocompromised at risk. The online mob beat down the bar into issuing an apology, but that poured more fuel on the fire. Why? Because it didn't provide...
Sophie Park/for the Boston Globe
The August 31 Instagram post from Last Ditch Bar and Arts Venue, a lesbian bar in Greenfield, was upbeat, teasing a new DJ lineup and a volunteer meetup. But partway down the rainbow-hued post labeled "UPDATES!" was a sentence that would splinter the queer community in this small Pioneer Valley city and beyond.
"It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional," wrote Last Ditch.
Previously, patrons were required to wear a well-fitted KN-95 mask "or better" at all times...
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Envato via PinkNews
'Last Ditch Bar' made Saturday nights mask-optional from 31 August, while keeping masks required on other days. The change was reportedly intended to boost business after financial strain.
In a social media announcement on 31 August, the venue wrote: "It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional." The decision prompted anger from some members of the local queer community, including calls to boycott...
