Strip clubs can now get federal relief loans—even if they are considered “prurient” businesses
Strip clubs are now eligible for loans as part of the Paycheck Protection Program. Up until now, these adult establishments were barred from receiving federal monies to help them survive the pandemic. That’s because, as Buzzfeed reported last year, a Small Business Administration policy prohibited funding to enterprises of a “prurient sexual nature.” Morality got in the way of money. Employees of exotic dance venues—everyone from bartenders to the cooks making those chicken wings—felt the pain. Following a lawsuit filed by 40 such establishments, a district court judge recently ruled that any “normal business concern”—even stigmatized ones—is eligible if it employs less than 500 people.
