By Ian Neubauer
A Melbourne hotel has been forced to discontinue a weekly event that offered free drinks to women who removed or flashed their underpants.
The Saint Bar in St Kilda canned its weekly ‘No Undies Sundie’ event after Liquor Licensing Victoria director, Sue Maclellan, warned it would attract a $13,000 fine for encouraging the irresponsible consumption of alcohol, the Herald Sun reported.
Last week Maclellan told News Ltd she would investigate the promotion that offered a glass of Champagne to first 100 women who exposed their underpants to bar staff and a $50 drink card to women who removed their underpants and hung them from the bar.
“On the face of it, it looks like an inappropriate liquor promotion and we will be investigating with a view to banning it,” she said.
Maclellan’s sentiments were mirrored by a diverse range of stakeholders, including the AHA, the Victorian Premier’s office and sexual assault counsellors, who described the promotion as offensive, sexist and entirely out of whack with community standards.
Contacted today (September 22), Saint Hotel licensee Cameron Manning refused the opportunity to tell his side of the story. “I’d rather not discuss it,” he said.