A 19-year-old exotic dancer and her beloved nightclub are taking a stand against a new law that puts a hard stop on anyone under 21 from working in the adult entertainment industry.

Serenity Michelle Bushey filed a lawsuit in a Florida federal court on Monday, July 1, asserting that she wrongfully lost her job at a Gainesville-area strip club after the Sunshine State’s new age restrictions for adult dancers took effect.

The 19-year-old used to work for Café Risque, described as a “24/7 American Restaurant with Naked Entertainment” on Instagram.

Serenity Michelle Bushey used to work for Café Risque, but she lost her job after Florida’s new law took effect

Image credits: Serenity Bushey / Instagram

Located a few miles from Gainesville, the family-owned adult diner offers discounts to truck drivers and military veterans.

Despite not serving alcohol, it still falls under the new Florida regulation that targets adult entertainment businesses.

The law, aimed at combating human trafficking, also forbids adult entertainment businesses from employing individuals under the age of 21 in roles such as performers, cooks, DJs, waitstaff, security guards, and contractors. However, Serenity believes this law infringes on the U.S. Constitution.

The 19-year-old exotic dancer and the owners of Café Risque filed a lawsuit challenging the new law in a Florida federal court on Monday

Image credits: Café Risqué

The teenager—along with Café Risque’s owners and two other adult businesses in Jacksonville—filed a lawsuit challenging the new restrictions in federal court in Tallahassee on Monday.

“As with similar performers around the state, Bushey earned her living through her art while providing entertainment for the benefit and enjoyment of her audience,” read the lawsuit. “Plaintiffs have a clear legal right to engage in protected speech of this nature.”

“This is not only taking jobs and livelihoods away from me and other women my age, but violating our constitutional right to free speech,” said the young adult

 

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A post shared by Serenity Bushey (@serenity.bushey_528)

The 19-year-old stripper also said she believes the law is simply intended to increase votes for those enforcing the bill.

“I don’t think that the law that they passed is going to solve this issue at hand,” she said in a statement to the Daily Mail. “Instead this is more or so [sic] a political plot to get voters into the booths to vote for the candidates putting these laws in motion.”

“This is not only taking jobs and livelihoods away from me and other women my age, but violating our constitutional right to free speech,” she went on to say. “This law has no evidence behind it when it comes to the reason it was passed. There is no evidence that human trafficking is mainly targeted towards exotic dancers in the state of Florida.”

The new Florida law is aimed at combating human trafficking and protecting “the most vulnerable in our communities”

#BREAKING: Gov. Ron DeSantis signs legislation to crack down on human trafficking

The law raises the minimum age to work at establishments like strip clubs to 21

“This legislation will help better protect the most vulnerable […] We’re gonna continue to stand strong for those… pic.twitter.com/P7O3uGVyTE

— Florida’s Voice (@FLVoiceNews) May 13, 2024

The anti-human trafficking bill, which restricts anyone under 21 from working as a stripper or in other adult entertainment establishments, was signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in May.

“This legislation will help better protect the most vulnerable in our communities, it will ensure that if businesses are not complying with these very modest, reasonable requirements, whether knowingly or unknowingly, they will be held accountable,” the governor said at the time. “And of course, anybody actively involved in human trafficking will have the book thrown at them in the state of Florida.”

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