Rich Guggenheim – Photos: 5280basedhomo, via TikTok
A Denver gay bar had its Yelp page flooded with bad reviews after three Republican gay men accused the establishment of discriminating against them due to political beliefs.
TikTok user @5280basedhomo, whose real name is Rich Guggenheim, posted a video claiming that he and two other gay conservatives — Chris (“TheMidwestHomo”) and Valdamar Archuleta, the Republican nominee in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Denver — tried to enter “Buddies” on Saturday afternoon, October 5.
Guggenheim claims they were told they must pay a $40 cover charge. He further said non-Republican gay people were allowed to enter without paying a cover.
It’s impossible to gauge a person’s political beliefs based on their external physical appearance, but Guggenheim, seen wearing a red cap reading “Make Gay Bars Gay Again” in the TikTok video, says he and Chris were wearing the hats when they tried to enter the bar. Archuleta was wearing a “bedazzled MAGA hat.”
“We were just told by the bouncer at Buddies that they’re charging a $40 cover for the three of us to get into this bar when they are not charging anybody else that cover,” Guggenheim said. “This is discrimination and homophobia against gay people who have conservative ideology.”
He urged his followers to “share this all over social media and blast Buddies — in Denver — for their discriminatory practices, in charging conservative gay people $40 covers that they’re aren’t charging to anybody else. They’re lying, they’re discriminating, they’re being homophobic, and they’re literally disenfranchising members of their own community.”
Buddies, a gay bar in Denver is discriminating against gay men with “Make Gay Bars Gay Again” by telling is there is a $40 cover thay no one else is being told to pay. This is discrimination, homophobia, intolerance, and bigotry.
There’s no solid evidence — other than Guggenheim’s claims — that the bar only charged conservatives $40 to enter.
Phil Newland of Buddies disputed Guggenheim, noting that “considerable misinformation” has been spread regarding the incident.
Newland told Metro Weekly in an email that the bar was holding a small fundraiser supporting the Harris-Walz campaign from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the day in question. They charged people $40 to enter and seven people (besides organizers) chose to participate, resulting in $280 being raised.
“We had several people choose to not participate in the 60-minute fundraiser, and many of them returned at 5:30 when the fundraiser was over,” Newland wrote, noting that the bar holds weekly fundraisers for a variety of LGBTQ nonprofit organizations.
Unfortunately, some online users heeded Guggenheim’s call to “blast” Buddies, and the bar’s Yelp page received several one-star reviews, with commentators referencing the incident and the bar’s alleged ideological discrimination against gay conservatives.
“Denied entry to gay people who are not ideologically aligned with the left. Really unfortunate and pathetic. Making sure everyone knows Buddies discriminates and is unwelcoming,” wrote one reviewer based in Los Angeles.
“This is not an inclusive space, the gay community should be open and supportive of all members, not a select few,” wrote a reviewer based in San Antonio, Texas.
“This business discriminates. It also helps groom children for gender transition,” wrote a user from Denver. “Please do not patronize this establishment.”
“Buddies is a WOKE bar that discriminates against conservative gay men! They cater to trans. Its no longer a gay bar!” wrote a user from Lexington, Alabama.
Nearly all the negative reviews were posted by people located in cities other than Denver in the days following Guggenheim’s post.
Yelp posted a warning noting that the business had recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news. As a result, the site said it was temporarily disabling posting to determine “whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events.”
As reported by the Colorado Times Recorder, Archuleta, one of the men involved in the controversy, has previously blamed the behavior of LGBTQ people for inspiring anti-LGBTQ violence. He wrote in a December 2022 Facebook post, “The biggest threat to increasing violence towards the LGBT community are LGBT Activists and Organizations who make LGBT people look insane, unreasonable, and menacing. We will face more hate in the future directly due to these activists and organizations.”
Just a few weeks prior, following the 2022 shooting at Club Q, a gay bar in Colorado Springs, which claimed the lives of five people, Archuleta appeared to give credence to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric accusing gays of “grooming” children.
“If you’re really that upset about being called a #groomer maybe you should step back and reevaluate your activity around children,” he wrote.
“We will not engage in conspiracy theories or participate with validating or acknowledging any claims made by GAG [Gays Against Groomers], or their members/followers,” Newland told Metro Weekly.
Some have come to the bar’s defense, denouncing the calls from conservatives to boycott or “cancel” the bar. One Facebook user posted a video saying that the local community would rally around Buddies.
“I have to tell you I have had issues with a lot of people out there, but not the owners of Buddies,” the user said. “They have always been just so amazing and kind and welcoming. The staff has always been great. The locals are going to support Buddies. I don’t care what these people say, or how they try to bash it, [the locals are] going to save that bar.”
McDonald's is the latest U.S. corporation to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion policies as conservatives continue to apply public pressure to eliminate initiatives and programs they believe are discriminatory.
The company revealed in a January 6 statement that it will no longer set specific diversity goals, such as requiring suppliers to commit to certain DEI targets.
However, the fast food chain will not completely disband so-called "affinity groups" at individual franchises and will continue to report demographic information of board members, employees, and suppliers in its annual Purpose & Impact report.
Lawmakers in more than a dozen states have introduced at least 120 bills explicitly targeting the transgender community or seeking to roll back rights or legal protections for trans individuals, according to transgender journalist Erin Reed.
Reed, who has been tracking anti-transgender legislation for her Erin in the Morning Substack, reported that the number of bills introduced before the start of 2025 state legislative sessions is 120 -- a 50% increase from the 80 bills pre-filed before the start of the 2023 legislative calendar.
The bulk of the bills have been introduced in Texas and Missouri, but lawmakers in 11 other states have also embraced anti-transgender legislation as a priority for the upcoming year.
Sometimes the answer is right in front of you if you just know where to look.
Case in point: As you walk down the north side of U Street in Northwest D.C., the space that houses D.C.’s newest gay bar features a small, unassuming storefront -- blink, and you’ll miss it. A “Lucky Pollo Peruvian Chicken” logo consisting of LED lights, with a cartoon chicken wearing a leather cap and boots, serves as an “Easter egg” to those in the know -- the rare external clue that more than what meets the eye lies beneath the exterior of the takeout chicken eatery.
Once inside the restaurant, which, despite being under construction, is already equipped with an ATM and three tablets mounted to the wall, and where late-night revelers will eventually place their orders, your eyes inevitably drift to the right, almost by instinct, as you survey the space.
These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!
A Denver gay bar had its Yelp page flooded with bad reviews after three Republican gay men accused the establishment of discriminating against them due to political beliefs.
TikTok user @5280basedhomo, whose real name is Rich Guggenheim, posted a video claiming that he and two other gay conservatives — Chris (“TheMidwestHomo”) and Valdamar Archuleta, the Republican nominee in Colorado’s 1st Congressional District, which includes Denver — tried to enter “Buddies” on Saturday afternoon, October 5.
Guggenheim claims they were told they must pay a $40 cover charge. He further said non-Republican gay people were allowed to enter without paying a cover.
It’s impossible to gauge a person’s political beliefs based on their external physical appearance, but Guggenheim, seen wearing a red cap reading “Make Gay Bars Gay Again” in the TikTok video, says he and Chris were wearing the hats when they tried to enter the bar. Archuleta was wearing a “bedazzled MAGA hat.”
“We were just told by the bouncer at Buddies that they’re charging a $40 cover for the three of us to get into this bar when they are not charging anybody else that cover,” Guggenheim said. “This is discrimination and homophobia against gay people who have conservative ideology.”
He urged his followers to “share this all over social media and blast Buddies — in Denver — for their discriminatory practices, in charging conservative gay people $40 covers that they’re aren’t charging to anybody else. They’re lying, they’re discriminating, they’re being homophobic, and they’re literally disenfranchising members of their own community.”
There’s no solid evidence — other than Guggenheim’s claims — that the bar only charged conservatives $40 to enter.
Phil Newland of Buddies disputed Guggenheim, noting that “considerable misinformation” has been spread regarding the incident.
Newland told Metro Weekly in an email that the bar was holding a small fundraiser supporting the Harris-Walz campaign from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on the day in question. They charged people $40 to enter and seven people (besides organizers) chose to participate, resulting in $280 being raised.
“We had several people choose to not participate in the 60-minute fundraiser, and many of them returned at 5:30 when the fundraiser was over,” Newland wrote, noting that the bar holds weekly fundraisers for a variety of LGBTQ nonprofit organizations.
Unfortunately, some online users heeded Guggenheim’s call to “blast” Buddies, and the bar’s Yelp page received several one-star reviews, with commentators referencing the incident and the bar’s alleged ideological discrimination against gay conservatives.
“Denied entry to gay people who are not ideologically aligned with the left. Really unfortunate and pathetic. Making sure everyone knows Buddies discriminates and is unwelcoming,” wrote one reviewer based in Los Angeles.
“This is not an inclusive space, the gay community should be open and supportive of all members, not a select few,” wrote a reviewer based in San Antonio, Texas.
“This business discriminates. It also helps groom children for gender transition,” wrote a user from Denver. “Please do not patronize this establishment.”
“Buddies is a WOKE bar that discriminates against conservative gay men! They cater to trans. Its no longer a gay bar!” wrote a user from Lexington, Alabama.
Nearly all the negative reviews were posted by people located in cities other than Denver in the days following Guggenheim’s post.
Yelp posted a warning noting that the business had recently received increased public attention, which often means people come to this page to post their views on the news. As a result, the site said it was temporarily disabling posting to determine “whether the content you see here reflects actual consumer experiences rather than the recent events.”
As reported by the Colorado Times Recorder, Archuleta, one of the men involved in the controversy, has previously blamed the behavior of LGBTQ people for inspiring anti-LGBTQ violence. He wrote in a December 2022 Facebook post, “The biggest threat to increasing violence towards the LGBT community are LGBT Activists and Organizations who make LGBT people look insane, unreasonable, and menacing. We will face more hate in the future directly due to these activists and organizations.”
Just a few weeks prior, following the 2022 shooting at Club Q, a gay bar in Colorado Springs, which claimed the lives of five people, Archuleta appeared to give credence to anti-LGBTQ rhetoric accusing gays of “grooming” children.
“If you’re really that upset about being called a #groomer maybe you should step back and reevaluate your activity around children,” he wrote.
“We will not engage in conspiracy theories or participate with validating or acknowledging any claims made by GAG [Gays Against Groomers], or their members/followers,” Newland told Metro Weekly.
Some have come to the bar’s defense, denouncing the calls from conservatives to boycott or “cancel” the bar. One Facebook user posted a video saying that the local community would rally around Buddies.
“I have to tell you I have had issues with a lot of people out there, but not the owners of Buddies,” the user said. “They have always been just so amazing and kind and welcoming. The staff has always been great. The locals are going to support Buddies. I don’t care what these people say, or how they try to bash it, [the locals are] going to save that bar.”
READ NEXT