Steel City Cellar, a new comedy club on Pittsburgh’s North Side, faced social media backlash after allowing a patron wearing a Hitler costume on its Halloween opening night. The venue later acknowledged the incident, admitting the patron should have been immediately removed.
The Bottom Line
- Steel City Cellar had its opening night on Halloween in the space beneath Max’s Allegheny Tavern, a German restaurant that opened in 1903.
- Photographs circulated online showing a patron dressed in a tan uniform with a swastika on one arm and a mustache painted on her upper lip, alongside another patron dressed as Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts woman accused of killing her three children.
- Following public outcry and a drop in its Yelp rating to 1.7, the club issued a statement on November 1 admitting the costume had no place in the venue and banning all Nazi symbols or other hate symbols moving forward.
Opening Night Controversy at Steel City Cellar
The controversy unfolded on Halloween during the opening night of Steel City Cellar, located below Max’s Allegheny Tavern on Pittsburgh’s North Side. Images circulated across social media platforms showing a female patron dressed as Hitler in a tan uniform featuring a swastika on one arm and a mustache painted on her upper lip. Social media users indicated that her partner was dressed as Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts woman accused of killing her three children. Users said the individuals were not kicked out and that comedians made jokes referencing their costumes throughout the night.
The Pittsburgh subreddit crashing out over a woman wearing a Hitler costume on Halloween, plus “well dressing up as Charlie Kirk is akshually funny because of the way he died”.Classic Reddit Moment. pic.twitter.com/usoGzNKoRk
Public Backlash and Digital Fallout
As images of the costume spread online, internet users criticized the venue for permitting the patrons to remain inside, with some users reporting they were blocked by the club on Instagram after raising concerns. By the evening of November 1, users located the female patron’s Instagram profile before it was set to private. In her profile bio, she defended the outfit as “a Halloween costume, nothing more,” stating she had been “double dog dared” to wear it. Public review platforms reflected the fallout: while Google Reviews held a 5.0 rating with the most recent review published on October 28, the club’s Yelp rating dropped to 1.7 as multiple reviewers lodged complaints regarding the incident.
Club Acknowledgment and Ownership Details
On November 1, Steel City Cellar addressed the incident in a Facebook post, confirming the patron’s presence on Halloween night. “This individual should have been immediately removed from the venue because (Nazis) have no place in our club,” the statement read, adding that context does not erase the impact of (Nazi) imagery. The venue stated that future entry would be denied to anyone wearing (Nazi) symbols or other hate symbols regardless of intent. Peter Zee and Colten Buzard are the co-owners of the comedy club, while Douglas Diegelman owns the venue and space.
