ACT UP Disrupts Stoli Promo At NYC Bar

Last night members of ACT UP disrupted a Stoli promotion at the popular Splash Bar in Chelsea.  Paul Schindler reports at Gay City News:

It certainly didn’t have the makings of a fair fight, as a group of less than a dozen members of ACT UP/ NY faced off against a crowd of roughly 150 who had been primed with free rounds of Stolichnaya Vodka. But when the activists disrupted the opening of the Most Original Stoli Guy New York competition at Splash bar in Chelsea on July 30 with signs that read, “Russia Kills Gays” and “Dump Stoli,” the crowd watched in bewildered silence. Only the event’s drag queen hostess took up the cause of the evening’s liquor sponsor. “This is what happens when you drink Absolut,” she said, warning the crowd to stick with the Russian import. As Splash security personnel rushed the demonstrators, ripping up their signs and shoving them away from the stage, she added, “Look at those assholes being taken out of the bar.” Then with noticeably more anger in her voice, she continued, “This is America, not Russia.”

[Photo credit: Yoon Seo Nam]

RELATED: Splash Bar announced last week that it will close on August 10th after 22 years in business.

UPDATE: Here's a murky video of the protest.