A New Jersey movie theater called the police on a 15-year-old autistic boy after his mother brought him to the women's bathroom, with the manager telling the mother, "This is not a transgender bathroom."
On Tuesday, Christine Gallinaro filed a lawsuit against the Cinemark movie theater in Hazlet, New Jersey, saying that she was harassed and discriminated against after taking her 15-year-old autistic son, who cannot use the restroom alone, to the women's restroom at the theater.
According to the lawsuit, which was provided to Newsweek, there were no family bathrooms at the movie theater and after Gallinaro took her son to the women's restroom, she was told by the manager, Nicole J. Nicolet, that her son shouldn't be in there.
"This [referring to the women's restroom] is not a transgender bathroom," the lawsuit said.
Following the comments about the restroom not being a "transgender bathroom," Gallinaro's lawyer, Armen McOmber, told Newsweek on Thursday, "That's not what this was about."
"The problem is, this person, this manager, wasn't trained, didn't understand what she was looking at..barked at them," McOmber told Newsweek.
According to McOmber, after Gallinaro and her son were told to leave, the manager left the area and an assistant manager, who was named in the lawsuit as Defendant Brandon M. Mansueto, eventually called the police to the theater.
The lawsuit states that Mansueto told Gallinaro that he "didn't agree" with what Nicolet did and that he was "not with her."
"As a direct result of the foregoing harassing and discriminatory conduct, Defendants have not only ruined Plaintiffs' beloved pastime of attending Corporate Defendants' Hazlet location, but also, irretrievably traumatized Minor Plaintiff J.G.," the lawsuit said.
According to McOmber, despite the manager's response, others in the movie theater had no issue with Gallinaro taking her son into the women's bathroom and one woman inside the restroom smiled at them.
"It's just ridiculous. What should have happened, there should have been some trace of human intelligence and compassion," McOmber told Newsweek. "Some trace of human compassion and intelligence to understand this is the situation. This is a mom who is trying to help her kid go to the bathroom. That's it, that's all that had to happen."
The lawsuit states that "Plaintiffs demand judgment in their favor and against Defendants on this Count, together with compensatory and equitable relief, punitive damages, pre-and post-judgment interest, attorneys' fees and costs of suit, and for such other relief that the Court deems equitable and just."
McOmber told Newsweek that "I think the message here is at this point in our civilization and the laws we have here in New Jersey, the behavior of this manager and the behavior of this company is just not acceptable and it's hard enough being a mom to an autistic kid...without having your kid being humiliated and yelled at for trying to go to the bathroom."
"Either train your people appropriately or we're not putting up with it. They should apologize, they should train their people appropriately and they should deal with the situation," McOmber told Newsweek.
Newsweek reached out to Cinemark via email for comment on the lawsuit.
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