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Des Peres (KMOV) — Michelle King says it was supposed to be a special moment that she and her fiancé, Amanda Shelton would share, learning how to ballroom dance for their upcoming wedding.
“Mady bought me the Groupon for Christmas as a surprise,” said King.
“We didn’t want to be looked at as just another gay couple in another gay dance studio, it wasn’t about that for us and that’s what he made it into,” said Shelton.
The couple says they felt blindsided when instructor Dave Thompson with Prestige Ballroom in Des Peres told them he would not accept their business because they were gay.
“He was like ‘We don’t have accommodations for same sex couples to dance,” said King.
King says they had a call with Thompson before actually meeting him. A day went by and they say out of the blue, they received a call from the group named St. Louis Equality Dance.
“She said David referred us to him and I was like ‘I didn’t pay for you, I paid for Prestige,” said Shelton.
News 4 went by Prestige Ballroom to get Thompson’s side of the story. He said he didn’t want to comment before meeting with his attorney.
News 4 found the business does not advertise on their website that they do not accept gay couples.
“I even asked if it was a faith based dance studio, he told me no, he told me it had nothing to do with that,” said King.
Legal experts say a business can refuse service if it’s motivated by a religious belief.
If not, the couple could take legal action.
The couple took this issue to Groupon and they have issued then a full refund.
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