The Q, a celebrity-backed gay nightclub which opened in 2021 on Eighth Avenue and 48th street, was supposed to trumpet “inclusiveness,” but in a lawsuit brought by a former fired partner claims that partner Alan Pikus “was vocal in his discriminatory beliefs and was hostile to the club catering to any group other than white young men,” Frank “Frankie” Sharp alleged in the suit which was filed last month in state Supreme Court in Manhattan.

The suit alleges that Pikus wanted the venue to be “comfortable for white twinks,” or young gay, white men, the suit alleges. He wanted women barred from entry and made a disparaging remark to a potential bar manager, saying, “I don’t need [you] to break my back to hire people just because they’re black or trans.” 

“I was shown the door BECAUSE of my REPEATED attempts to address the problematic behavior and dangerous mismanagement of the Q….All I am seeking in this claim is Justice and I REFUSE to be intimidated,” Former partner Frankie Sharp said on his Facebook page.

Thomas Shanahan, a lawyer for Pikus said, “the allegations of inappropriate, racially insensitive and discriminatory comments, they were taken out of context.”

The Q announced on its Instagram page this week that Pikus was no longer affiliated with it and that it made a $10,000 donation to Destination Tomorrow, a Bronx nonprofit serving the LGBTQ+ community.