Transgender woman sues Hooters for discrimination over claim company 'refused to hire her'

Brandy Livingston said she applied for a occupation astatine Hooters connected Wolf Road successful Colonie, New York, 3 times but was rejected. She is present suing the fashionable edifice chain

A transgender pistillate is suing Hooters for discrimination, claiming that the institution repeatedly refused to prosecute her owed to her quality and sex identity.

Brandy Livingston has been a regular astatine the subdivision connected Wolf Road successful Colonie, a suburb of Albany successful New York, truthful overmuch truthful that she opened to enactment astatine the edifice 1 day. However, aft her caller transition, the lawsuit claims she is not respected arsenic a woman, with unit utilizing antheral pronouns.

She besides alleged that workers astatine the edifice harassed her for utilizing the toilet, claiming that 1 of the servers asked the manager: "Why are you allowing him successful the women's restroom?" According to Brandy, the manager allegedly replied: "Oh, I don't similar it immoderate much than you do."

Speaking to News10, Brandy said she decided to writer Hooters "for sex-based discrimination, connected the ground of accommodation and connected the ground of employment." She filed the assertion with the New York State Division of Human Rights, which said it recovered grounds that her rights whitethorn person been violated nether helium state's anti-discrimination laws and called a proceeding for September 2025.

Talking to the American TV presumption astir her experience, Brandy said she applied for employment astatine the edifice 3 times - but was rejected. She explained: "I said, bash you privation to spot my acquisition oregon anything? Because I had erstwhile jobs I had written down."

But she claimed that she was told: "Oh, we don't attraction astir experience. We prosecute connected the ground of personality. And there's an representation that needs to beryllium met." But contempt the claims and the lawsuit, News10 reported that lawyers for Hooters deed back, saying they had asked Brandy not to instrumentality to the edifice aft allegedly making sexually explicit comments to waitresses earlier her modulation - which the lawsuit denies.

Hooters besides claimed that Brandy had threatened "to spell to a weapon scope for signifier for the adjacent clip you came to the restaurant." However, she told the outlet: "That I ne'er said thing about. My ma would instrumentality maine to the weapon scope and for clay pigeon shooting, trap. I consciousness similar 1 of the servers mightiness person overheard what maine and my dada were talking astir and misunderstood what we were talking about."

Addressing the Human Rights hearing, which is owed to instrumentality spot adjacent year, Brandy's parent Adelle said: "It's a precise dilatory system. I deliberation that's wherefore much radical don't basal up for their rights."

Brandy said she didn't writer Hooters for money, but said she would similar an apology from the company. But she added: "I'm ne'er going to get that." Meanwhile, the New York Post reported that Brandy's ailment sparked protests extracurricular the restaurant, with a tiny radical of radical carrying colourful, homemade signs speechmaking "sex-based favoritism is wrong" and "trans women are women".

The Mirror has contacted Hooters for comment.