For most, the COVID pandemic is receding into the past as an unpleasant memory. But according to a bizarre new piece from the Boston Globe, the pandemic is not only alive and well, but causing intense drama in the Massachusetts lesbian community.
A highly entertaining article by Annalisa Quinn details the unlikely drama enveloping The Last Ditch, a Greenfield lesbian bar that has maintained a mandatory KN-95 mask requirement to all patrons. As you might expect, forcing everyone inside to mask up is not great for business, so the bar politely proposed a night where face masks were optional.
The Last Ditch said, in an Instagram post, “It is with love we inform our immunocompromised disabled divas we will be opening Saturday nights as mask optional“, having apparently received an “outpouring of feedback” from patrons that the mask rule is killing the vibe. They underlined that “accessibility is a pillar of our mission”, but that they wanted events that were “full capacity.”
“I hope your venue gets firebombed”
At first glance, it’s difficult to find anything to be upset about. The bar would still be masks-only every other night of the week, and anyone immunocompromised could ear a mask on Saturday night. Then, as per the article, came a deluge of fury.
A lesbian bar in Greenfield eased its stringent mask mandate, a decision that has splintered the queer community in the city and beyond. https://t.co/FuaTxqqjso
— The Boston Globe (@BostonGlobe) September 22, 2026
A deluge of online feedback accused the bar of variously running a “hatred and discrimination night,” that this is “pandering to capitalism and white supremacy,” and that, “people like you kill disabled people.” One even replied, “I hope your venue gets firebombed.”
The bar went into damage control mode, apologizing for “our passive and dismissive tone of our change to the norms and schedule impacting the most intersectional of us.” But, unfortunately for the Last Ditch, the apology post did not provide alt-text for visually impaired people, which for the critics only underlined “the lack of care or interest in Disability intersectionality.”
This spiralled into an acrimonious Zoom meeting in which “Nigerian multidisciplinary artist, community organizer, and filmmaker” Soe Noire pilloried the bar’s owners, who were apparently left in tears after explaining the financial fof nightmare of running this bar. Noire apparently had zero sympathy, reportedly replying: “You chose to use your time to spill tears and center your feelings. … This is incredibly racist and deflecting behavior.”
When asked if Noire would like to attend a meeting in person? “There’s a lot of emotional and physical labor that goes into this, so for you as a white person that asks for me to stay for another meeting for free is incredibly disingenuous and racist. I’m not doing that.” Later, Noire would go on to conclude online that this lesbian bar is not “a safe environment nor interested in revolutionary praxis” and that any emotion was “WHITE THEY THEM TEARS.” As per the article, Noire lives 50 minutes from the bar and has only visited a handful of times.
Reactions online range from amusement to abject confusion. Many pointed out that this is a classic example of someone using “social justice language to manipulate and abuse people.” Others simply found the whole situation ludicrous:
Wait a second… no one's wearing KN-95s in this lesbian bar!
— el pendejo 🇨🇺 🇪🇸 (@danker_hank) September 22, 2026
HA! Enjoy your super spreader event, ladies… https://t.co/iJPWqc9fPs pic.twitter.com/qlgPl32wLj
As for the bar? Its future is uncertain. It is apparently in $50,000 of debt and the landlord is asking for $3,900 in rent. Two of the original organizers have stepped back from the establishment, one of them to attend clown school.
