Restaurant Under Fire For Controversial Caitlyn Jenner Signage

ALLEN, TX — One local restaurant has come under fire for bathroom doors critics are calling transphobic. The restaurant, Dodie's Place Cajun Bar & Grill, first came under fire when Dallas Morning News editor Dom DiFurio posted photos of the bathroom doors on Twitter with the caption "What's going on here Dallas?" The restaurant used photos of transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner before and after her transition to differentiate the men's and women's restrooms.

Dodie's Place originally posted photos of the bathroom doors on its Facebook page in August. The images were taken from Jenner's Vanity Fair cover and from Jenner's victory in the 1976 Montreal Games. Dodie's Place captioned the photo: "Come meet our newest members of the Dodie's crew, Caitlyn & Bruce!"

A debate began almost immediately after the image was posted. Some commenters, like Facebook user James Hardie, showed support of the idea with comments like his which read: "This is awesome! Funniest thing I've seen in a while!" Others, like Facebook user Abby Morgan, expressed dismay with comments like: "I know if I saw this in my area, it would be the quickest way to lose my business. Very poor taste."

After the doors received an onslaught of national attention, Dodie's Place released a statement on its Facebook page Thursday defending the decision.

Read the statement here:

"First and foremost, our intention was not to make fun of or offend anyone when we installed the pictures of Bruce and Caitlyn on our bathroom doors. It was merely a lighthearted gesture to push back against the political correctness that seems to have a stranglehold on this country right now. We believe that political correctness has done more to silence rather than encourage important discussions that our society probably needs to have. Based on the mind-boggling feedback, both positive and negative, people are having that discussion. However, name calling and words like transphobic, deviant, racist, homophobic, bigot, etc. serve nothing but to continue to divide us instead of uniting us. After all, we are all part of the same race - the human race. Surely, we can discuss this topic and many others without slapping hurtful labels on each other. Please know that we are here to discuss this and move forward as a community. Everyone is welcome here."