A new gay nightclub in Sydney’s vibrant Oxford Street area has been compelled to change its name following community pushback.

Kevin Du-Val, the owner, and Michael Lewis, the manager of the well-known gay club Palms, had plans to launch a new multi-level venue called Pink Pony in early December.

In a social media announcement, they revealed that the club’s name was “boldly inspired by a song that deeply resonates within our community,” referring to Pink Pony Club by the lesbian artist Chappel Roan.

However, Du-Val and Lewis faced criticism after they marketed Pink Pony as catering “specifically” to gay men aged between 18 and 35.

“With our experience and passion, Pink Pony is designed specifically for 18-35 (in spirit) gay men who love to dance and enjoy high-energy music in a space that feels like their own,” stated the pair in a now-deleted social media post.

In an interview with Gay Times, Lewis mentioned that while women would be welcome, the intention was that the club would be “predominantly” for gay men, indicating an expectation of “90 percent or more” male patrons.

“Obviously, we’ve got legal hurdles … in terms of how much we can vet the crowd while still complying with the law.”

The Sex Discrimination Act considers the exclusion based on gender identity or sexual orientation as unlawful discrimination, but the Australian Human Rights Commission can grant some temporary exemptions from the rule.

This is usually determined on a case-by-case basis following a set of criteria and guidelines.

People have taken to social media to complain about Pink Pony’s name and door policy, saying it was ironic and exclusionary.

“Appropriating lesbian culture for your own money/benefit for gay men … This had the potential to be so great for our community and for Oxford Street. Sad,” event organiser Heaps Gay said.

“So it’s gay men only, but the name of the club is a song by a female lesbian pop star? Oh, I fear they missed the mark with this one,” one user said.

“Why would you name a club after a hit song by a lesbian pop star, and it’s not a lesbian bar?” another said.

This week, Du-Val and Lewis changed their social media handle to “new name coming soon” and apologised for “any hurt or offence” they caused.

“In our excitement to announce the launch of our new venture, our first thought was to let those in the community we envisioned would be the core clientele know we were building something for them, in hindsight our communication was clumsy and very poorly worded,” the pair said in a statement.

“Clearly the choice of ‘Pink Pony’ as a name was also an error of judgement given Chappell Roan’s well deserved reverence with queer women.

“We can see the issue with using the song name as inspiration for what was expected to be a predominately gay venue.

“We have taken the time to see from the perspective of others in our community, and see that we appeared arrogant and selfish, for that, we are sorry.”

Du-Val and Lewis added that all members of the LGBTQI+ community would be welcome in their new club.