Melbourne strip club manager reveals what happened on Lidia Thorpe’s night out before outrageous row
The manager of a strip club where Lidia Thorpe was seen yelling swear words at gamblers claims the rogue senator went up to “white men” before the incident and said, “You stole my country.”
Ms Thorpe was filmed unleashing an extraordinary spray on a group of men outside Maxine’s Gentlemen’s Club in northern Melbourne at 3am on Sunday.
David Ross, managing director of Maxine’s, told Daily Mail Australia that Ms Thorpe’s behavior was ‘simply unacceptable’ and that she has been banned from the establishment for life.
He revealed that bouncers kept a close eye on the Greens defector throughout the evening because she was “a little quarrelsome” during the wild night out with friends.
“One of our guards said they thought she (Mrs Thorpe) was going to get in trouble for going up to white men in the crowd and telling them they stole her land,” he said.
David Ross, general manager of Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club, has imposed a lifelong suspension on Ms. Thorpe
However, Mr. Ross said that although the senator had been drinking, she was “not drunk” and was not asked to leave.
The heated altercation came about 3 a.m. after the venue closed.
Ms Thorpe, who was out with a group of three friends for a 50th birthday party, had previously told 7News that she was allegedly wooed and harassed by the men.
“It’s sad that people use anything to bring me down when we try to discuss important issues in this country,” she told the network.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Thorpe’s office for comment on allegations that she was the one provoking gamblers.
Mr Ross said he viewed footage of the extraordinary spray on the club’s security cameras and has since spoken to staff working that night.
“She was very animated and argumentative,” he said.
“I think to the credit of our punters who were up front, they didn’t get aggressive and try to fix the situation.”
Mr Ross revealed that he would write a letter to the Senator’s office on Monday morning informing her that she had a lifetime suspension from the club.
Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) was filmed unleashing an extraordinary spray on a group of men outside a strip club in Melbourne at 3am Sunday
At one point, the senator approaches one of the men and says, “You’re marked”
“I have never seen a racially inspired problem in our club before,” he said.
“People of all nationalities come to the club. I like to say that adult entertainment has universal appeal – it doesn’t matter what background you come from, it’s all entertaining. But she’s not welcome.’
He added: ‘We’re a local club – we’re more of a local bar than a strip club – there just happen to be scantily clad women walking around. We are a very local club and we do not welcome this kind of behavior at all.’
Mr Ross said he did not believe Ms Thorpe had visited Maxine’s – which describes itself as the ‘hottest Melbourne strip club north of the CBD’ – before.
Footage from the incident shows Mrs Thorpe pointing her finger at the men in a heated argument.
At one point Mrs. Thorpe walks up to one of the men and says in a menacing tone ‘you, you’re marked’.
Maxine’s Gentleman’s Club in Melbourne’s north describes itself as the ‘hottest strip club in Melbourne north of the CBD’
David Ross, the club’s general manager, said he had never seen a ‘racist-inspired incident’ at the venue (pictured) and was appalled by Ms Thorpe’s behaviour.
One of them calls her a ‘racist dog’ to which she responds ‘f*** you’ before a friend stops her.’
She tells the men, “All I want to say to the black brothers out there and to everyone we fight…
“Any black man standing like that with the f****** white little c*** – you (sic) can all get f***** too!”
The outspoken independent senator who broke away from the Greens earlier this year was out with friends to celebrate a 50th birthday.
One of the men asks, “How the hell does someone get into parliament like you?”
She hits back: “We’ve been oppressed all our lives in this country and you let this dog talk…”
A member of the group told 7News that the senator was “out of control.”
It is not the first time the former Green Senator has been involved in controversy.
Last year, she was forced to step down as deputy leader of the Green party in the Senate after failing to publicly disclose her relationship with former biker boss, Dean Martin, while serving on a committee investigating biker gangs.
Lidia Thorpe (pictured) attempted to storm the stage during British transcritic Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull’s speech to the Let Women Speak rally outside Parliament in March
Senator Thorpe was later pictured reclining on her back in front of a float during Sydney Mardi Gras
Ms Thorpe (pictured) was forced to step down as deputy leader of the Greens in the Senate after failing to disclose her relationship with former biker boss, Dean Martin
She was also forced to apologize unreservedly after intervening during a parliamentary debate with the line “at least I keep my legs closed,” which was reportedly addressed to Liberal Senator Hollie Hughes.
In February, Ms Thorpe caused a scene at Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade when she lay down in front of an Australian Federal Police float after screaming ‘f*** the police’.
Last month she disrupted a ‘Let Woman Speak’ event outside Parliament House in Canberra held by controversial women’s rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull.
Draped in an Aboriginal flag, Mrs Thorpe made a straight line to Mrs Keen-Minshull, before being intercepted and taken down by police.
She crawled across the lawn and made her way to a group of more than 100 pro-trans counter-demonstrators.
The independent senator from the “black sovereignty” movement later claimed she had been “pulverized” by police, saying Ms Keen-Minshull – whom she called “filth” – was not allowed to speak on Aboriginal land.