A former exotic dancer now working as an attorney is suing the ownership and management of a Melville strip club, alleging that dancers were pressured into prostitution, raped by customers, and retaliated against when they complained about unsafe and illegal working conditions, according to court documents cited in a report.
Christine DeMaria filed the lawsuit against Gossip Gentlemen’s Club and Lounge Thursday in New York State Supreme Court, Newsday reported. She claims the nightclub facilitated sexual abuse of dancers in locked, soundproofed VIP rooms — even while the club publicly advertised a strict “no touching” policy.
Allegations of coercion and abuse
According to the complaint, DeMaria began dancing at Gossip in 2016 and quickly learned that the venue — which promotes itself as a “hidden gem of the nightlife scene” — allegedly operated very differently behind closed doors.
She says in the lawsuit that dancers were required to pay nightly, nonrefundable “house fees” ranging from $40 to $100 just to work, along with mandatory tips for DJs, managers, floor staff and a “house mom,” according to Newsday’s report. DeMaria also claims dancers were pressured to consume alcohol to lower their inhibitions with customers, despite her own refusal to drink.
Further, Gossip management routinely pressured dancers to engage in prostitution, often in basement VIP rooms that were locked from the outside by bouncers, DeMaria claims. Refusing to comply, Newsday reported citing the lawsuit, would result in penalties, lost shifts or termination.
DeMaria alleges she was pushed by a manager into a VIP room with a wealthy client, where she witnessed a co-worker being coerced into performing oral sex and then physically assaulted for refusing to comply, according to the lawsuit.
The complaint further alleges that prohibited sex acts sometimes occurred on the club’s main stage, including incidents involving adult film stars who were invited to perform at Gossip, which according to the establishment’s website is “Where The Real Adults Come To Play.”
From survivor to advocate
Raised in New Jersey, DeMaria said in multiple reports that she survived childhood sex trafficking at age 15 and began stripping in 2014.
After leaving the adult entertainment industry, she completed her bachelor’s degree at Thomas Edison State University, then graduated from New York Law School in June and passed the New York bar exam over the summer.
She is the founder of the nonprofit SWITCH — Sex Workers in Transition Compassion Home, which helps dancers, sex workers and trafficking survivors transition to new careers.
About SWITCH
SWITCH — Sex Workers in Transition Compassion Home — is a nonprofit founded by attorney and former exotic dancer Christine DeMaria to help dancers, sex workers, and trafficking survivors transition into safer careers and stable housing.
Founded in 2023, SWITCH provides advocacy, peer support, and resources for individuals leaving the adult entertainment industry. DeMaria launched SWITCH after surviving childhood sex trafficking and later working as a strip club dancer before earning her law degree.
DeMaria was inspired to create SWITCH during her first semester of law school — when she still worked as an exotic dancer and would be encouraged by her fellow dancers as she sometimes studied for school while at work.
DeMaria has received the David Prize from the Walentas Family Foundation, a $200,000 award recognizing visionary New Yorkers who are creating lasting social change.
VIP rooms and alleged retaliation
In January 2022, with Brian Rosenberg serving as Gossip’s sole owner, the club added two VIP rooms reserved for high-spending clients, according to Newsday‘s report regarding the lawsuit.
DeMaria alleges customers were escorted through dancers’ locker areas, where women often were undressed, and in one instance she said a customer strode in unattended and filmed her.
She also claims Rosenberg — who is named in the lawsuit along with Gossip senior manager Spiro Anastasiadis and several other managers, dancers and security staff — oversaw credit card transactions for sex acts.
In March 2022, DeMaria says a VIP customer sexually assaulted her, and she was pressured on other occasions by management and coworkers to perform sex acts, which she refused. After reporting these conditions, she says her complaints were ignored and led to her firing and blacklisting.
DeMaria is also pursuing an ongoing lawsuit against two Manhattan strip clubs, where she alleges similar assaults and retaliation, highlighting a broader pattern of abuse across the industry, according to court documents reviewed by Greater Long Island.
“I was told there were ‘rules’ and security to keep dancers safe, but in reality, I was trafficked and sexually assaulted at work because they encouraged it and profited from it,” DeMaria said in the Newsday report. “When I refused to prostitute myself and reported what was happening, I was retaliated against and blacklisted.”
Gossip owner Brian Rosenberg, Gossip senior manager Spiro Anastasiadis, and DeMaria’s attorney Megan Goddard did not return phone calls for comment before publication.
Top: (inset) Christine DeMaria (Instagram) and Gossip Gentleman’s Club and Lounge in Melville (taken by Eric Micallef).
