Lesbian couple 'kicked out of restaurant for sharing a brief kiss'

LA: A hotel restaurant is facing huge backlash after a lesbian couple who were celebrating their anniversary were asked to leave after they shared a brief kiss.

Gay couple Kenyata White and Aeimee Diaz, both 38, were returning to Downtown Phoenix's District American Kitchen & Wine Bar in the Sheraton Hotel  - where they first met - for their anniversary when they greeted each other with a brief embrace.

Before they even had a chance to look at their menus, the manager allegedly came over and asked them to leave, saying they were making other patrons uncomfortable.

Ms White posted about the incident on her Facebook page on Sunday evening and straight away there was a public outcry from many in the district.

Sheraton spokeswoman Katie Brashear would not confirm the details surrounding the incident, citing privacy concerns, but she provided a statement that said the District 'embrace(s) diversity' and proudly supports the gay community.

'We are taking this incident very seriously,' the statement said. 'Our restaurant is open for all to enjoy and we regret that this incident took place.'

She said today they were in the process of 'reaching out' to the women.

Speaking to Arizona Central.com, Ms White said: 'My partner and I were reminiscing ... in one of the tall booths.

'I had my arm around her neck, and she had her hand around my waist. I gave her a hug for about a minute, pulled myself away to give her a quick kiss, and then we continued talking.'

A manager then approached the couple, saying their 'behavior was inappropriate and we needed to leave the establishment' because they were making other patrons uncomfortable, Ms White said.

They were later invited to come back the next day for free drinks, she said.

It was a table of eight elderly customers that allegedly made the complaint.

State LGBT civil-rights organization Equality Arizona has attempted to act as a go-between for the women, according to Equality Executive Director Nick Ray.

Speaking to MailOnline he said: 'The Sheraton does a lot with the LGBT community, but just because things on the macro level are great doesn't mean everything on the micro level is.

'That once incident out weighs all the good they did before. The entire staff are obviously not being trained properly.

'The manager on duty did not know how to handle the situation at the time.

'Now we are working on bringing the two parties together to help them have a better understanding of what happened and how it happened, so this type of incident doesn't occur again.'

Dozens of angry comments were posted on the restaurant's Facebook page in the last two days, with many promising to boycott the premises.