Bistro Fires Black Trans Woman For Wearing Wig: Lawsuit

EAST VILLAGE, NY — Lucien French Bistro, considered a storied East Village mainstay, fired a black transgender woman for wearing a wig to work, according to new lawsuit.

Dominique Shaw, who first began working as a host at the restaurant in 2016, sued the restaurant, the late owner Lucien Bahaj's estate and his son Zac Bahaj, alleging they discriminated against her, reduced her hours based on what she wore, and ultimately, fired her.

During her employment, she began wearing high heels, long nails and a wig and using "she" and "her" pronouns, but the restaurant owners "did not like and did not accept (her) self-expression," according to the federal lawsuit filed Monday.

"Be a man!" Lucien Bahaj, the longtime owner who died this summer, told Shaw, when she wore heels, according to the lawsuit.

The first day she wore a wig to work, she was told she looked like a "freak" and forced to take it off, the lawsuit says.

Shaw, a contracted model who's LinkedIn Page says she has modeled for brands including Nike and Robert Geller, was told her natural black hair didn't meet the bistro's standards either, according to the suit. Black women were not permitted to wear their hair in "afro" styles without tying it up a certain way, while "non-black girls with long straight hair were allowed to wear their hair down," the lawsuit says.

About a year ago, the host wore a wig to work again, but when Lucien Bahaj saw her, he "immediately flew into a rage."

"You're NOT working like this," Bahaj said, according to the lawsuit. "You think you can sneak by me? We already discussed the wig! I'm not going to lose customers over your wig!"

That night, he kicked her out and fired her, according to the lawsuit.

Lucien French Bistro, on First Avenue and First Street, had become known as haven for the cultural elite in New York City after the late Lucien Bahaj opened it in 1998.

For Shaw, the bistro was a "sexually-charged, hostile workplace," according to court papers.

Bahaj "preferred to hire hosts who have a 'cool' or 'sexy' look" at the restaurant, known for drawing models, artists, and celebrities, according to the lawsuit. Cisgendered men and women were "encouraged" to wear revealing clothing.

But when Shaw wore a cropped tank top to work in mid-2017 — similar to tank tops other cis-women were wearing that day — Zac Bahaj, Lucien's son, told her: "I don't give a f---. Put on a shirt!"

Shaw is suing the restaurant for race, gender identity, and sexual orientation discrimination under the Civil Rights Act of 1964, New York State and New York City Human Rights Law in federal court.

A lawyer for Shaw, Wesley Mullen, did not have comment. Shaw didn't immediately respond for comment. The restaurant and Zac Bahaj did not immediately respond to requests for comment.