By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-02 13:47:00 | Updated at 2026-08-02 16:18:13
3 hours ago
A Michigan hair salon broke state law by telling prospective transgender customers to stay away and visit a dog groomer instead, officials have ruled.
Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City declared that anyone who did not identify as a man or woman was 'not welcome' in a Facebook post published in 2023.
'If a human identifies as anything other than a man/woman please seek services at a local pet groomer,' salon owner Christine Geiger wrote.
'You are not welcome at this salon. Period.'
Geiger also warned that staff might refuse to use customers' preferred pronouns and instead call them 'hey you.'
She insisted that the salon had the right to turn customers away, writing: 'This is America; free speech. This small business has the right to refuse services.'
Geiger also took aim at Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and House Bill 4744, which expanded the state's civil rights protections for LGBTQ people.
'Kiss my A** Governor Whitmer,' she wrote.
Studio 8 Hair Lab owner Christine Geiger warned transgender and nonbinary customers that they were 'not welcome' at her Traverse City salon
Studio 8 Hair Lab in Traverse City broke Michigan law by publicly warning that transgender and nonbinary customers were not welcome at the salon, officials ruled
Geiger told transgender and nonbinary people to seek services from a pet groomer and warned that staff might call them 'hey you' rather than use their preferred pronouns
In another post, Geiger said lesbian, gay and bisexual customers were welcome at Studio 8 but added that 'the rest' of the LGBTQ community was not something she supported.
She later shared images claiming there are only two genders and that identifying as anything else 'is a mental health issue,' according to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission.
The posts sparked widespread backlash and prompted more than 20 complaints to the Michigan Department of Civil Rights between July and November 2023.
Three of those complaints, filed by people who saw the posts online, became the basis of the case against Studio 8.
None of the three had attempted to book an appointment or been refused service at the salon.
But Michigan law does not require someone to be personally turned away before a business can be found responsible for discriminatory advertising.
Michigan Department of Civil Rights spokesperson Katie Adrianse told the Daily Mail that the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act prohibits publishing a statement indicating that services will be denied because of someone’s gender identity or expression.
The commission found that Geiger’s July 7 and July 9, 2023 posts both advertised that transgender customers would be refused service and described their presence at the salon as unwelcome.
After a three-year investigation and hearing process, the commission ruled that the Facebook messages broke state law.
Studio 8 was found to have violated Michigan's Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act, which bans businesses serving the public from discriminating against customers.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation explicitly adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act
The Michigan Hall of Justice, home of the state Supreme Court, whose earlier rulings extended civil rights protections to LGBTQ people
The decision marks the first ruling in Michigan directly addressing discriminatory advertising under that law.
'This ruling sets the precedent that no business can publicly discriminate without consequence, whether it occurs face-to-face or over social media,' commission chair Luke Londo said in a press statement.
The commission found that Studio 8 is a business open to the public and must therefore follow Michigan's anti-discrimination laws.
It said the salon's posts went beyond expressing Geiger's personal beliefs because they warned prospective transgender customers that they would be denied service.
The commission also found that Studio 8 retaliated against the three complainants by suing them after they reported the posts.
Geiger has now been ordered to remove the discriminatory messages, stop publishing similar material and serve customers regardless of their gender identity or expression.
She must complete anti-discrimination training within 120 days and display a notice about Michigan's anti-discrimination laws in a prominent location inside the salon.
Geiger has also been ordered to publish a statement on the salon's Facebook page acknowledging that Studio 8 must comply with state law.
'Studio 8 Hair Salon is a place of public accommodation under the Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act,' the required statement reads.
Geiger has been ordered to remove the discriminatory posts and complete anti-discrimination training within 120 days
Studio 8's separate lawsuit against the three complainants was dismissed as frivolous in 2024 and is now under appeal
'We are obligated and intend to comply with the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act by providing our goods and services to all prospective and current clients and customers without regard to their gender identity or gender expression.'
Information about the ruling will also be provided to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and the state Board of Cosmetology.
Adrianse said the Board of Cosmetology could take disciplinary action against Geiger’s professional license.
Studio 8 was also ordered to pay the complainants’ legal fees and other costs from both the state proceedings and the related circuit court lawsuit. An administrative law judge will determine the amount.
The salon has 30 days from the date of the decision to appeal in circuit court. If it does not appeal, the commission can ask the Michigan Attorney General’s Office to obtain a court order enforcing the decision.
The department declined to speculate on whether Studio 8 must comply with the order while an appeal is pending, saying that would depend on future court action.
Geiger’s attorney, David Delaney, said Studio 8 would appeal the commission’s ruling in Grand Traverse Circuit Court.
‘This case is about what someone said. Not what someone did,’ Delaney said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
‘The government made a finding of discrimination regarding a two-sentence Facebook post.’
Delaney said Geiger is a Christian who believes God created men and women and wants to use her salon as an ‘expressive platform’ to promote those beliefs.
He argued that Michigan’s laws governing businesses open to the public were intended to regulate discriminatory actions, not speech.
‘Speech is not an act of discrimination,’ Delaney said. ‘This case involves pure speech. No individual was denied a public service.’
Delaney also claimed Studio 8 was prevented from raising its constitutional rights to free speech, freedom of religion and a jury trial during the hearing.
‘This is the reason 250 years ago the United States of America declared independence from the tyranny of the King,’ he added.
'Driving home 5 years ago today was surreal,' Geiger wrote on January 7. 'If you were there you know. Over 2 million of us experienced something the rest of the world will never understand'
The commission, however, said Geiger was notified of the hearings but did not participate.
It also noted that the Facebook posts did not cite religious beliefs as the reason transgender customers were unwelcome.
The dispute dates back to July 2023, months after Whitmer signed legislation explicitly adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act.
That change did not formally take effect until February 2024, several months after Geiger published the posts.
But the Michigan Civil Rights Commission had already issued a 2018 interpretation stating that the law’s existing ban on sex discrimination covered sexual orientation and gender identity.
A Michigan Court of Claims judge ruled in 2020 that the law covered gender identity discrimination, upholding that portion of the commission’s interpretation.
The Michigan Supreme Court later ruled in July 2022 that the law also protected people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation.
Studio 8 sued the three complainants in 2023 in an attempt to block the case against the salon.
Geiger lying on a beach in a 'TRUMP' cap
A Grand Traverse County judge dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous in 2024 and found that it was intended to harass, intimidate, threaten or retaliate against the complainants.
The salon appealed that dismissal, and the separate case remains pending before the Michigan Court of Appeals.
Studio 8 Hair Lab no longer appeared in Google Maps searches as of Wednesday, although the reason for the listing's disappearance was unclear.
The salon was flooded with negative reviews on Google and Yelp after Geiger's posts went viral in 2023, including reviews from people who had not visited the business.
Google has not confirmed whether it removed or suspended the salon's profile or whether its disappearance was connected to the reviews or the civil rights case.
Despite the salon's disappearance from Google Maps, Geiger remains outspoken on her other social media accounts.
Her public Instagram mixes hairstyling photos and family snapshots with inspirational quotes and right-wing political posts.
One recent meme attacked liberals over abortion and transgender people before using an ableist slur: 'LIBERALS WILL TELL YOU A BABY IN THE WOMB IS NOT A BABY BUT A MAN IN A DRESS IS A WOMAN. THIS IS WHY WE CALL THEM R*****S.'
Another Facebook post showed Geiger lying on a beach in a 'TRUMP' cap and celebrated July 4 as 'independence' from government.
Geiger also indicated that she attended the pro-Trump gathering in Washington on January 6, 2021, sharing photographs of herself among a crowd, many of whom were wearing Trump merchandise, five years later.
'Driving home 5 years ago today was surreal,' she wrote on January 7. 'If you were there you know. Over 2 million of us experienced something the rest of the world will never understand.'
The photographs do not show Geiger entering the Capitol or participating in the violence that occurred.
The Daily Mail has contacted Geiger, Delaney, Google and an attorney representing the complainants for comment. The Michigan Department of Civil Rights provided a statement.
