Woman Asked To Leave Ponca City Barbershop

An Oklahoma woman is frustrated tonight after she was asked to leave a Ponca City Barbershop.

The barbershop owner said he’s trying to create a men’s only environment. Maliki Skowronski said she came into Kings Kuts last week with her husband on her day off because he needed to get his haircut, but before she even sat down, she was asked to leave.

“I get that there’s a whole era of men that this is catering to and that’s fine. I just wish it was a little more advertised in that way,” said Skowronski.

Skowronski said she and her husband were the only two in the shop, but she was asked to leave because she is a woman. Maliki and her husband both left the shop instead.

“He walked over with his hands clasped and said 'I’m going to need you to go, go shopping, do whatever you need to do, drive away while we do the man business, this is a strictly men’s shop and we’re gonna do the man business here,'” said Skowronski.

Kings Kuts Owner Daxton Nichols said most people in Ponca City understand his strict no women policy.

Nichols wasn’t available to talk with News On 6 on camera but spoke with one of our radio partners, Pat Campbell, on KFAQ on Monday morning.

“We like to talk about what’s going on,” said Nichols. “Hunting, fishing, stuff like that.”

Nichols said he wants men to feel comfortable talking about whatever they want while they’re there; and while Skowronski thinks it’s great for men to have a place to go, she thinks it takes us back in history.

“I just wish that we could not bring that forward in history, not bring the ignorance, not bring the segregation, and not bring the misogyny into the future,” said Skowronski.

Nichols said there are a lot of salons around the county that operate like Kings Kuts. He said there are exceptions to the men’s only rule for family and for single mothers bringing their sons inside.

Nichols also told our radio partner that having women inside would take away from the man cave environment.

“Part of my vision is that, I think, men have lost their edge,” said Nichols. “They don’t really have the grit that they used to stand up to be men because it’s important that we function as a man to stay men.”

Skowronski volunteers at an orphanage in her spare time and said ever since she’s spoken out, she and the orphanage have been getting hurtful messages.

She said she just wishes they would’ve asked her to leave in a kinder way.

“Why would you bring these innocent people into this?” said Skowronski. “This is me wishing we wouldn’t encapsulate this part of history. The ignorance and the misogamy is what I want to be left out.”