What to Know
- A Manhattan chef is suing the Hustler Club, claiming a stripper punched him in the face and knocked out his front tooth
- David Kupferstein says he told the dancer, "It sounds like you are a bad mother," prompting her to punch him while he sipped a drink
- The bouncers escorted him out and found his tooth on the floor minutes later, he says; he's suing for $1 million
A Manhattan chef is suing the Hustler Club for $1 million, claiming a stripper punched him in the face and knocked out his tooth when he called her a bad mother, according to published reports.
David Kupferstein was visiting the strip club on Manhattan's West Side in March 2015 when a dancer got angry and slammed a glass into his mouth as he was taking a sip of his drink, according to The Daily News.
The chef told The New York Post that the woman had taken a special interest in his group of friends and as she spoke with him, told him about her children and how they were getting into trouble with the police.
"I said, 'It sounds like you are a bad mother,'" Kupferstein told The Post.
"I guess she didn't like it," he said, describing how the dancer punched him while he was sipping his drink, knocking out his left front tooth in the process.
A few bouncers escorted him out of the club, and "after a couple minutes they found my tooth on the floor and brought it back to me."
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The manager allegedly promised to pay Kupferstein's dental bills but later reneged, he claims. He said he was left with a gap in his grin until he was able to get a temporary fake tooth, and expects years of expensive dental work ahead.
"One of the restaurants I was interviewing for was called, 'Smile,'" he told The Post. "The irony was very thick."
He's suing for $1 million in damages, and has filed the lawsuit in Manhattan Supreme Court. His lawyer Steven Wolff told The Post they want the Hustler Club to held accountable.
The Hustler Club declined comment to The Post and The Daily News.
The self-employed chef told The Post he doesn't think the punishment fit the crime.
"I guess it is sort of insulting to tell a woman she is a bad mother," he admitted. "I felt we had that kind of rapport."
