How the Media Turned a Lesbian Bar Into a Culture War (ft. Kat Tenbarge)

SPEAKER_1 (0:00)

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Katelyn Burns (0:31)

So we are here outside the Last Ditch Bar. This is the bar from the Boston Globe story that went viral. And that's what today's episode is about. So I hope you all enjoy it and let's get into it. Also, I'm out here with my dog Frodo. So if you see him in the background of all the shots, make sure you say hello to him in the comments. Frodo, here, look at the camera. Hey.

He's very excited about the town that we're in. Hi.

Christine, how do you feel about firebombing lesbian bars?

Christine Grimaldi (1:07)

Oh, that doesn't sound like a good idea. If my face just constricted in a bar.

Katelyn Burns (1:15)

I think I surprised you with that one.

Christine Grimaldi (1:17)

You sure did, Kate.

Katelyn Burns (1:19)

So who are we canceling today?

Christine Grimaldi (1:22)

Oh, who are we canceling today?

Katelyn Burns (1:25)

How about The Boston Globe?

Christine Grimaldi (1:27)

Yeah, I think The Boston Globe sounds good. And all really of the anti-trans antagonists who may really be the source of the viral lesbian bar story.

Katelyn Burns (1:39)

Hey, everyone. I'm Katelyn Burns.

Christine Grimaldi (1:41)

And I'm Christine Grimaldi.

Katelyn Burns (1:43)

And you're listening to Cancel Me, Daddy.

Christine Grimaldi (1:46)

The show where we take a closer look at all the panic around political media.

Katelyn Burns (1:50)

With upload analysis.

Christine Grimaldi (1:52)

And verbal shitposting.

Katelyn Burns (1:55)

Christine, we're back once again. And we're talking about a story in my backyard.

Christine Grimaldi (2:01)

Yes, when you texted me about the viral lesbian bar story, I believe I wrote back, AI could never put together that sentence.

Katelyn Burns (2:10)

This is true.

This is true. I read it with great interest. I'm still toying with the idea of actually going to the bar and filming myself out in front of it for the intro for our YouTube version.

Christine Grimaldi (2:22)

Listen, I think that much, hopefully, of the media circus has quieted and that it won't be exploitative for you to go. You know, have a drink or whatever you got to do there.

Katelyn Burns (2:38)

Also a side note for our YouTube viewers, you can actually see my new dog behind me in the background. This is Frodo. He's sleeping. So everybody go check that out. Everybody say hi Frodo in the comments because he would appreciate it. You'll see him sleeping back there from time to time. But we have an episode to get into.

We brought back the amazing Kat Tenbarge to help us break down the viral story about the COVID conscious lesbian bar in Western Massachusetts. A mere 20 minutes from my door.

Christine Grimaldi (3:13)

Hey, I could never.

Katelyn Burns (3:17)

Let's get into it. Kat, welcome to Cancel Me, Daddy. Welcome back to Cancel Me, Daddy, I should say.

Kat Tenbarge (3:23)

Thank you so much for having me back. It's a pleasure to be here.

Katelyn Burns (3:27)

We're always happy to have you on the show.

We wanted to have you on to talk about the Western Mass lesbian bar that seemingly everybody in the world has been talking about over the last couple of weeks. I know we're a little bit late to this story, but we put out every other week, so we can't always be having things.

Christine Grimaldi (3:49)

We also bring a fresh perspective. Exactly.

Katelyn Burns (3:52)

Yes. Also, I live 20 minutes from this bar. I've actually never been there, but I used to live in Greenfield, Mass. I can bring a little bit of a local perspective to this. But for those of us that listen or watch this show, that are maybe not as online as the rest of us, and God, I am jealous of them.

Can you give us a recap of this story and what exactly happened here that everybody's talking about, this random bar in Western Massachusetts?

Kat Tenbarge (4:26)

Absolutely. So I think the moment when this first got onto most people's radar is when The Boston Globe ran a story about this bar in Western Massachusetts. And as I'm sure we will get into, there were some podcasts and people crawling around this story before then. But The Boston Globe article is what went mega viral and became one of the most successful Boston Globe articles in terms of driving subscriptions of all time. And the story as they told it is that there was this bar in Greenfield, Massachusetts that had opened last year by a group of queer people as a COVID conscious lesbian bar and a super progressive lesbian bar as well.