Lambda Legal is suing a Sizzler restaurant after a lesbian customer reported that she was assaulted by the manager who also used anti-gay slurs. Lambda Legal charges in the suit that the frightening encounter ensued after the manager accused Liza Friedlander of not paying for the buffet during brunch with friends at the Forest Hills Sizzler last September. The suit, filed in Queens Supreme Court, says the manager shoved Friedlander in the chest and kicked her in the legs while calling her a "fucking dyke" and other epithets. The suit contends the attack set off a frenzy of hateful chants from other patrons, spurring Friedlander's friends to frantically dial 911 out of fear she would be killed. One male diner called Friedlander a "he-she freak" and demanded she leave. Friedlander said it left her shaken. "Just because I don't appear to be the Sizzler manager's idea of what a woman should look like doesn't mean that gives him permission to attack me and allow other customers to join in," Friedlander said.The restaurant manager denies everything and says Friedlander "freaked out" after being told the brunch buffet period had ended.
