Hawke's Bay bar Thirsty Whale apologises after staff member's salty response to drag queens

Coco Flash, left, and Erika Flash have just completed a nationwide tour. Photo / Supplied

The owners of a Hawke's Bay bar have apologised after a staff member told a pair of drag queens looking for work they weren't welcome.

Erika and Coco Flash, a Taranaki-based drag duo messaged the Thirsty Whale Facebook page on Friday saying they were coming to Hawke's Bay on September 19 and were looking for venues which may be interested in having them perform.

To their surprise a staff member at the Thirsty Whale responded quickly, and rudely.

"**** off" the message read.

Sunita Torrance, who goes by the name CoCo Flash, said the pair were then told the venue was only a restaurant.

Taranaki based drag duo CoCo and Erika Flash received a rude response from a Napier venue after messaging them to look for work. Photo / Supplied

She responded by asking the bar: "Is your homophobia served fresh or frozen?"

Owners of the venue Chris and Kerri Sullivan said they were "very sorry" to everyone who had been affected by the message to the drag queens.

"We are shocked and embarrassed that this sort of behaviour has taken place within The Thirsty Whale."

Five staff members had access to The Thirsty Whale Facebook page and the Sullivans "didn't want to make assumptions" about who it was as they had "great relationships" with their team.

They asked for IT help to find out who sent the message and say this has now "become an employment issue with that specific staff member".

The Sullivans said they had apologised to Erika and CoCo Flash and invited them to chat to The Thirsty Whale team.

The Thirsty Whale says the message is now an employment issue. Photo / File

As "the timing couldn't work" they are now looking into other diversity workplace training options and are looking into new policies which can be put into place "to ensure our team feels accepted and included".

"This event has allowed us to take a closer look at our workplace culture and really focus on how we can make improvements."

The two drag queens have just wrapped up a nationwide tour called Rainbow Story Time NZ, a children's event targeted at toddlers to intermediate-aged children, designed to encourage inclusivity and acceptance through books and games.

Last month a Timaru woman launched a petition calling for the town's library to cancel their Rainbow Story Time event.

Torrance said both of them have a thick skin and often face criticism.

"We definitely would like all workplaces, but in particular bars and nightlife industries, to get training and be more inclusive to their diverse communities," Torrance said.