Actor Drew Droege Says Manager at L.A. Restaurant 'Reprimanded' Him 'for Kissing Another Man'
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Actor Drew Droege claims a manager at a Los Angeles restaurant told him "we don't allow your behavior here" after spotting him kissing his male date.
Droege, who has appeared in shows like New Girl and voiced characters for Bob's Burgers, posted his account of the "really sad, disgusting, hateful" incident after it occurred on Monday at El Compadre in Echo Park, Calif.
The food and service "were both great," according to Droege's Facebook post, before a manager approached the men at their table.
"Finishing up our second drinks, we had our arms around each other and kissed a few times," wrote Droege. "A manager approached our table and said something to the affect of, 'you guys can't do that here.' We were confused at first, but then he very firmly stated, 'this is a family restaurant.'"
The actor asked the manager if any other guests had complained, confused because many of the fellow diners were straight couples "doing the same thing we were doing." But the employee allegedly did not answer Droege's question.
"He threw his hands in front of us and said, 'I don't care if you're the President of the United States, we don't allow your behavior here,'" Droege recalled in his identical Facebook and Instagram posts.
Last night at @ELCOMPADRE_DTLA Echo Park I was reprimanded by a mgr for kissing another man. At 6:30pm in the middle of our second drink. Told “this is a family restaurant”& “we don’t allow that behavior here”. I will never be back. I encourage you all to find another place too.
— Drew Droege (@drewdroege) December 13, 2022
Droege shared a similar recount on Twitter explaining that he was "reprimanded by a mgr for kissing another man."
The story quickly spread online as his social media posts collectively got thousands of likes, comments and reposts.
On Tuesday afternoon, El Compadre's official Instagram account posted an initial statement, which was removed according to Eater, before an updated post was shared on Wednesday night. In the newest statement, the restaurant apologizes for the actions of the manager and said that he has been fired.
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"We do believe El Compadre to be a family restaurant, and coming into our restaurant is like coming into our home," the eatery said in the statement. "In our home we believe in love and equality and the fact that one of our employees made someone feel unsafe is not acceptable to us."
The restaurant did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment.
Droege shared the restaurant's apology message on Instagram with the caption, "Thank you everyone for all the support and love."
Followers and fellow actors commented their support on Droege's post. "Well done, @drew_droege. Thank you for speaking out," wrote Billy Eichner. Stranger Things actor Brett Gelman commented heart emojis in support of the comedian's update.