District of Columbia

D.C. trans woman files bias lawsuit against Whole Foods, Amazon

Co-workers accused of ‘threats to do bodily injury,’ ‘lewd, obscene acts’

Published

2 years ago

August 1, 2024

Ximena Navarrete

A lawsuit filed by a D.C. transgender woman in July 2022 accuses the Whole Foods supermarket company and its parent company Amazon.com, Inc. with failing to stop as many as 20 Whole Foods employees in six D.C.-area Whole Foods stores from allegedly subjecting the trans woman who worked in those stores with sexual harassment and assault, threats of assault, anti-trans name-calling, and lewd and obscene gestures.

Court records show two separate complaints, one against Whole Foods and the other against Amazon, were initially filed July 11, 2022, in D.C. Superior Court by Vanessa Navarrete, who later changed her name to Ximena Navarrete, after the case was transferred in August 2022 to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The records show Navarrete’s initial filing in U.S. District Court called for $1 million in damages from Whole Foods, with a second filing two months later in the same federal court calling for $1.5 million in damages from Amazon.

An initial answer to the complaint filed Nov. 3, 2022, by attorneys representing Amazon states, “Amazon denies that it engaged in any wrongful conduct with respect to Plaintiff,” among other reasons, on grounds that Amazon “was not Plaintiff’s employer.”

But a 57-page amended complaint filed as part of the lawsuit on Jan. 5, 2023, names as defendants in the lawsuit Amazon.com, Inc.; Prime Now LLC, the Amazon-owned company that operates the Whole Foods supermarket chain; and D.C.-area Whole Foods employees listed as “John Doe 1-10” and “Jane Doe 11-20.”

In subsequent court filings, Amazon attorneys repeatedly assert that the defendant in the case is Prime Now LLC “improperly identified as Amazon.”

The complaint describes in graphic terms the allegations made by Navarrete in her lawsuit.

“During the course of Plaintiff’s employment, Plaintiff was subjected to a pattern of discrimination, harassment, threats to do bodily injury, lewd, indecent, and/or obscene acts, indecent exposure, offensive language, offensive and unwanted physical contact, due to Plaintiff’s sex, perceived sex, personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, national origin, age and disability,” the complaint states.

“During the course of Plaintiff’s employment, Defendant Amazon and members of management were indifferent to the discrimination, harassment, threats to do bodily injury, lewd, indecent and/or obscene acts, indecent exposure, offensive and unwanted physical contact to which Plaintiff was subjected,” according to the complaint.

The lawsuit says Navarrete, 46, worked at the D.C. Whole Foods stores at the 1400 block of P Street, N.W. and in D.C.’s Tenleytown and Friendship Heights neighborhoods as well as the stores in Silver Spring, Md. and Arlington and Springfield in Virginia from Sept. 20, 2020, to Oct. 6, 2021, as a “Prime Now – Whole Foods Shopper,” a position in which she fulfilled food orders placed by customers online.

Supporting documents filed with the lawsuit say the alleged mistreatment of Navarrete began on her first day at work at one of the Whole Foods stores when a manager required her to wear a name badge with her birth name. Court documents show that she disclosed her birth name at the time she applied for the job and openly identified as transgender and requested, with Whole Foods managers initially agreeing, that she be identified and addressed as a female with her female name.

Her wearing a name tag with the male dead name played a key role in prompting co-workers to begin harassing her, court documents show.

Court records also show she identified herself as “Victor Navarrete (Vanessa)” in the first, handwritten version of her lawsuit filed in D.C. Superior Court, which she filed herself without an attorney. Her first amended complaint filed in the U.S. District Court identifies her as “Victor Navarrete a/k/a Vanessa Navarrete.” However, the lawsuit repeatedly states that she made it clear to managers and officials with Whole Foods Human Resources Department that she identifies as a female and wants to be addressed and listed in work-related documents by her female name.

According to the lawsuit, her employment with Whole Foods was terminated in October 2021 due to discrimination based, among other things, on her status as a Latina transgender woman and “for seeking redress from the discrimination and/or harassment.”

The Jan. 5, 2023, amended complaint charges Amazon and Whole Foods with violating the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964, the D.C. Human Rights Act, and the D.C. Bias Related Crimes Act for their “wrongful employment practices against Plaintiff.”

The Washington Blade reached out by phone and email to the two lead attorneys representing Amazon in the lawsuit – Michael A. Chichester Jr. and Brandon Robert Mita of the D.C. law firm Littler Mendelson PC for comment on the case on behalf of Amazon and Whole Foods. Neither responded to the request for comment.

The Blade similarly reached out by email to spokespersons for Amazon and Whole Foods seeking comment on the lawsuit. As of Aug. 1, neither had replied.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, a national LGBTQ advocacy organization, has awarded Amazon, Inc. its highest score of 100% in its 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index rating that evaluates LGBTQ supportive policies for employees.

The HRC Corporate Equality Index did not have a rating for Prime Now LLC or Whole Foods.

Court records show that Navarrete also filed a discrimination complaint against Amazon regarding her employment at Whole Foods with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on April 5, 2021, and another discrimination complaint against Amazon for the same alleged improper treatment with the D.C. Office of Human Rights on that same day.

The court records show that the EEOC on Jan. 4, 2023, issued a “right to sue” letter clearing the way for Navarrete to file her lawsuit in federal court under court rules that require people alleging employment discrimination to seek an “administrative” remedy before going to court.

The most recent court records show that U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over the lawsuit case, in April of this year denied a motion by Navarette’s attorneys to file another amended complaint with new allegations against Whole Foods employees. Among the new allegations, court records show, is that a Whole Foods male employee allegedly “groped” Navarrete’s buttocks and breasts, another employee allegedly exposed his genitals to her, and another allegedly sent her “explicit text messages and photographs of male genitals.”

Yet another new allegation, the record shows, is a security guard working for Whole Foods allegedly visited Navarette at her home and raped her after asking her for sex in exchange for helping her resolve her problems at work.

The Blade couldn’t immediately find in the court records a reason given by the judge for denying the motion to file the new amended complaint. But a motion filed by Amazon’s attorneys opposing the request by Navarette to amend the complaint argues that the new allegations are significantly different from the allegations in her original complaint and would be legally “untimely” in violation of court rules.

In reference to its call for monetary damages and compensation, the lawsuit states that because of Amazon’s “unlawful conduct,” Navarrete “has suffered, and continues to suffer, mental anguish and emotional distress, including but not limited to, humiliation, embarrassment, stress and anxiety, loss of self-esteem and confidence, and emotional pain and suffering, as well as physical injury, for which she is entitled to an award of compensatory damages and other relief.”

As of Aug. 1, the court records show that no trial date has been set for the case. The records do show that as required by court rules, the two sides entered mediation last year in an effort to reach a resolution to settle the case, but the mediation ended with no agreement being reached.

Erica Bilkis, one of two attorneys with the D.C. law firm Alan Lescht & Associates representing Ximena Navarrete, pointed out that 55 years after the Stonewall Rebellion started the modern LGBTQ rights movement, “trans women of color are still being persecuted and fighting for equal treatment in their personal and professional lives.” Bilkis added, “We are hopeful that we will not only bring justice on behalf of Ms. Navarrete, but also encourage others to bravely speak out against this systemic issue.”

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District of Columbia

Bowser appoints first nonbinary person to Cabinet-level position

Peter Stephan named Office of Disability Rights interim director

Published

4 days ago

March 12, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

The Wilson Building (Bigstock photo by Leonid Andronov)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bower has named longtime disability rights advocate Peter L. Stephan, who identifies as nonbinary, as interim director of the D.C. Office of Disability Rights.

The local transgender and nonbinary advocacy group Our Trans Capital and the LGBTQ group Capital Stonewall Democrats issued a joint statement calling Stephan’s appointment an historic development as the first-ever appointment of a nonbinary person to a Cabinet-level D.C. government position.

“This milestone appointment recognizes Stephan’s extensive expertise in disability rights advocacy and marks a historic advancement for transgender and nonbinary representation in District government leadership,” the statement says.

The statement notes that Stephan, an attorney, held the position of general counsel at the Office of Disability Rights immediately prior to the mayor’s decision to name him interim director.

The mayor’s office didn’t immediately respond to a question from the Washington Blade asking if Bowser plans to name Stephan as the permanent director of the Office of Disability Rights. John Fanning, a spokesperson for D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large), said the office’s director position requires confirmation by the Council.

Stephan couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.

“At a time when trans and nonbinary people ae under attack across the country, D.C. continues to lead by example,” said Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats. “This appointment reflects what we have always believed that our community is always strongest when every voice is represented in government,” he said.

“This is a historic step forward,” said Vida Rengel, founder of Our Trans Capital. “Interim Director Stephan’s career and accomplishments are a shining example of the positive impact that trans and nonbinary public servants can have on our communities,” according to Rangel.

District of Columbia

Capital Stonewall Democrats set to celebrate 50th anniversary

Mayor Bowser expected to attend March 20 event

Published

5 days ago

March 11, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

Mayor Bowser is expected to attend the Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th gala. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, members of the D.C. Council, and local and national Democratic Party officials are expected to join more than 150 LGBTQ advocates and supporters on March 20 for the 50^th anniversary celebration of the city’s Capital Stonewall Democrats.

A statement released by the organization says the event is scheduled to be held at the Pepco Edison Place Gallery building at 702 8^th St., N.W. in D.C.

“The evening will honor the people who built Capital Stonewall Democrats across five decades – activists who fought for rights when the odds were against them, public servants who opened doors and refused to let them close, and a new generation of leaders ready to carry the work forward,” the statement says.

Founded in 1976 as the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club, the organization’s members voted in 2021 to change its name to the Capital Stonewall Democrats.

Among those planning to attend the anniversary event is longtime D.C. gay Democratic activist Paul Kuntzler, 84, who is one of the two co-founders of the then-Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. Kuntzler told the Washington Blade that he and co-founder Richard Maulsby were joined by about a dozen others in the living room of his Southwest D.C. home at the group’s founding meeting in January 1976.

He said that among the reasons for forming a local LGBTQ Democratic group at the time was to arrange for a then “gay” presence at the 1976 Democratic National Convention, at which Jimmy Carter won the Democratic nomination for U.S. president and later won election as president.

Maulsby, who served as the Stein Club president for its first three years and who now lives in Sarasota, Fla., said he would not be attending the March 20 anniversary event, but he fully supports the organization’s continuing work as an LGBTQ organization associated with the Democratic Party.

Steven McCarty, Capital Stonewall Democrats’ current president, said in the statement that the anniversary celebration will highlight the organization’s work since the time of its founding.

“Capital Stonewall Democrats has been fighting for LGBTQ+ political power in this city for 50 years, electing people, training organizers, holding this community together through some really hard moments,” he said. “And right now, with everything going on, that work has never mattered more. This gala is the first moment of our next chapter, and I want the community to be a part of it.”

The statement says among the special guests attending the event will be Democratic National Committee Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta, who became the first openly gay LGBTQ person of color to win election to the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 2018.

Other guests of honor, according to the statement, include Mayor Bowser; D.C. Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5, the Council’s only gay member; D.C. Council member Anita Bonds (D-At-Large); Earl Fowlkes, founder of the International Federation of Black Prides; Vita Rangel, a transgender woman who serves as Deputy Director of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Talent and Appointments; Heidi Ellis, director of the D.C. LGBTQ Budget Coalition; Rayceen Pendarvis, longtime D.C. LGBTQ civic activist; and Phillip Pannell, longtime D.C. LGBTQ Democratic activist and Ward 8 civic activist.

Information about ticket availability for the Capital Stonewall Democrats anniversary gala can be accessed here: capitalstonewalldemocrats.com/50th

District of Columbia

Owner of D.C. gay bar Green Lantern John Colameco dies at 79

Beloved businessman preferred to stay ‘behind the scenes’

Published

6 days ago

March 10, 2026

Lou Chibbaro Jr.

John Colameco, owner of the Green Lantern, died of undisclosed causes.

John Colameco, owner of the popular D.C. gay bar Green Lantern, has died, according to a March 7 announcement posted on the bar’s website and Instagram account. The announcement didn’t provide a date of his passing or a cause of death.

Green Lantern manager Howard Hicks said Colameco was 79 at the time of his passing.

“It is with great sadness that Green Lantern announces the death of our beloved owner, John Colameco,” the announcement says. “Most of our patrons might have heard John’s name, but might not have known his face,” it says.

“He was a ‘behind-the-scenes’ kind of guy who avoided the limelight,” the announcement continues. “He preferred to stay in the back of the house with staff and team ensuring everything was running smoothly so that everyone out front was having a good time.”

The announcement adds, “As a veteran and businessman, John wasn’t a member of the LGBTQ + community, but he was one of the best damn allies our community has ever had.”

It says he “long provided spaces for the queer community to come together” since the 1990s when he owned and operated a popular restaurant on 17^th Street, N.W. called Peppers.

According to the announcement, Colameco and his then business partner Greg Zehnacker opened the Green Lantern in 2001 in an alley off of 14^th Street, N.W., between Thomas Circle and L Street, N.W.

The announcement points out that the Green Lantern first opened in the same location in the early 1990s before it later closed when the original owners decided to purchase and open other bars, one of which was the gay bar Fireplace near Dupont Circle. Colameco and Zehnacker were able to reopen the bar with the Green Lantern name.

“When Greg died unexpectedly in February 2014, John remained steadfastly committed to carrying on their vision and ensuring that Green Lantern remained part of the fabric of D.C.’s queer community,” the announcement says.

“Over the years, through Green Lantern, John has provided support to many community organizations, most notably Stonewall Sports, the Gay Men’s chorus of Washington, and ONYX Mid-Atlantic with Green Lantern serving as a gathering hub for their activities,” it states.

The announcement adds that Colameco’s family was planning a memorial for him in his hometown of Philadelphia.

“His Green Lantern family will celebrate his life by operating the bar as usual and we encourage you to stop by and join us,” it says. “Community coming together and having a good time – it’s exactly what John would want.”