There's a stereotype of a gatekeeping male rock band fan seeing a woman wearing a tee-shirt for that band and asking her to "name five of their songs" to prove she really likes the group and isn't just using them for fashion.
According to a report from The Guardian, this script was flipped at a recent concert for the all-female rock band The Last Dinner Party, as men who attended the show by themselves were allegedly brought into a "dark corner" and "interrogated" by security to prove they were actually fans of the group.
Another man whose tweets have since gone private wrote that he was "funnelled into a dark corner with other men, told I might be a pervert cus I’m alone and then taken into a room alone with a security guard where I was interrogated and searched. Feel sick."
The venue was Engine Shed in Lincolnshire, England, and it apologized on Twitter after the reports began circulating on social media. The venue's statement says there had been reports of "incidents" at previous concerts for The Last Dinner Party, and security made a "change" in their standard policy in an effort to prevent another such incident from occurring at their show. The change ultimately resulted in the interrogation of single male concertgoers, which the venue deemed "unacceptable."
The Last Dinner Party also posted a statement noting that they had nothing to do with the security fiasco.
“[The security changes] do not reflect our beliefs and would not have been implemented had we been made aware of them in advance," they wrote on social media. "Our shows are intended to be safe, welcoming spaces for everyone, which is something we deeply care about. Seeing inclusivity embraced by our fanbase is one of the best parts of performing live."
The incident appears to have resolved itself without further controversy, but that didn't stop memers from poking fun at the situation and the band itself. The Last Dinner Party has been the subject of controversy in the past as the group has beee criticized for coming from privileged backgrounds and speaking glibly about working class struggles.
On top of the controversy, the gig was eventually canceled due to illness in the band after attendees had already arrived.
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