Woman Sues Restaurant for $1.5 Million, Alleging Injury from Drag Queen's Breast

According to the US Food and Drug Administration, some of the most common complications after breast augmentation surgery are rupture, deflation, scarring, or pain. There’s also the potential that your implants will have to be replaced within a decade, if not sooner. But even the FDA couldn’t predict that another risk of having breast implants is being named in a $1.5 million lawsuit, after a tourist alleges that your powerful, aftermarket bosom permanently damaged her cervical spine.

In her recently filed lawsuit, Neldin Molina says that she was enjoying a plate of fish and chips at the Hamburger Mary’s location in Tampa, Florida, when she and her friends heard the other diners start clapping and cheering. She half-paid attention while she finished her breaded fish but, an hour or so into the show, she turned around and found herself face-to-breast with a drag performer that she identified as “Amanda D’Hod”. (The entertainer’s correct stage name, at the time, was Amanda D’Rhod).

“Defendant Amanda D’hod [sic] walks in front of the Plaintiff Neldin Molina and unexpectedly grabs her head and wiggles her breast against Plaintiff’s face and head 8 times,” Molina alleges in her lawsuit. “Then Defendant grabs Plaintiff [sic] face, pushing it to the right and immediately grabs Plaintiff head shacking [sic] it several times and then unexpectedly Defendant grabs Plaintiff head and neck and violently pounds the Plaintiff’s head against Defendant’s chest up to 9 times.”

In her lawsuit, which was obtained by the Miami Herald, Molina said that Hamburger Mary’s did not have any posters or signs alerting her of the drag show, nor did any member of the staff let her know that it was happening. She also said that D’Rhod showed a “lack of concern” by failing to ask her whether she had any prior head or neck injuries before forcing her to participate in the over-the-clothes motorboating session.

The 53-year-old Molina said that the “excruciating cervical pain” forced her to go to the emergency room Tampa two days later (and we’re admittedly curious what she wrote on her intake forms). She says that Hamburger Mary’s gave her an insurance claim number, but her attempts to follow up have been unsuccessful. In the two-plus years since she met D’Rhod’s breasts, Molina says she has endured “permanent injuries and permanent pain and suffering,” which is why she is asking for a completely reasonable-sounding $1.5 million in damages from Hamburger Mary’s.

According to its website, the first Hamburger Mary’s location opened in San Francisco in 1972 and it immediately became “a staple” of the city’s LGBT community. Since then, it has opened 18 more individually owned-and-franchised locations across the United States, and prides itself on its continued involvement with the LGBT community and its causes. It’s also not shy about promoting its drag performances, “Drag Queen Bingo” or weekend “Diva Lunches.”

“Don’t think that the fun stops at the clever menu items and décor. Oh no, a trip to Hamburger Mary’s is all about the experience,” it says on its site. “While each location is different, most have a patio for the warmer months and offer late-night entertainment such as MaryOke, HamBINGO, weekend DJs, and drag shows.”

"It’s not a good thing for anyone to go up to someone and perform that way," Molina told Tampa Bay Online. "There are a lot of people who have medical issues. I wasn’t aware that this was going to happen." She also told the outlet that, as a Colorado resident, she had difficulty connecting with an attorney in Florida, so she “went to a law library” and wrote the lawsuit herself.

MUNCHIES has reached out to Molina for comment. We have also reached out to Amanda D’Rhod, who is still a performer at Hamburger Mary’s locations throughout Florida—although she has since changed her name—but have not yet received a response.