Starbucks has sacked a transgender woman after footage emerged of her accosting a female customer and allegedly assaulting a man who filmed the incident. The clash erupted near a branch of the global coffee chain near the Southampton ferry terminal in Hampshire on April 30.
The clip, which is almost a minute long, shows the tall transgender woman engaged in heated dialogue with the customer on the customer’s side of the counter.
The customer, dressed in a white jacket with blue jeans, turns to the staff member and exclaims: “You’re rude!”
To which the worker responds, incredulously: “I’m rude?”
The blonde-haired punter then launches into a verbal tirade against the member of staff: “Don’t ever call me transphobic, ever! You do not know me.”
According to the MailOnline, the person that filmed the altercation said that the woman had allegedly said something “transphobic” that upset the employee, who then angrily refused to serve her.
In response to the customer, the transgender woman says: “You’re calling me a man, you’re being transphobic, Karen. Now get out.”
Karen is a derogatory slang term for a small-minded, conservative, white, middle-aged woman. British feminist Julie Bindel has questioned whether the term is “woman-hating and based on class prejudice”.
The argument continues, as the customer repeats herself: “Do not call me transphobic”.
The staff member then claps into the face of the woman, motioning for her to leave the coffee shop, saying: “You are transphobic, now get out.”
Demanding a “refund”, which the Starbucks worker denies, the shopper says she is going to go to the “police”.
She warns the pink-haired worker, despite being repeatedly told to “get out”, that the branch has “cameras”.
The staff member accuses the customer of “trespassing” for not immediately leaving.
The Starbucks employee lunges for the phone of the man filming the incident.
Social media exploded following the coffeeshop confrontation, with the video of the incident viewed approximately 4 million times.
Sall Grover, an Australian women’s activist, shared the video on Twitter, writing: “When women see men who think they’re women in female spaces, they often get themselves out as quickly as possible.
“[They] say nothing because we all know how men react when we say something they don’t like.”
TV personality Oli London also shared the clip, tweeting: “Is this an acceptable way for staff to behave Starbucks UK?”
Conservative commentator Chris Rose tweeted: “Glad to see that this aggressive and emotionally unstable transgender employee has now been sacked from Starbucks. Completely unacceptable behaviour.
“Good on the woman for standing her ground during this altercation.”
A Starbucks spokesman said: “The licensee has confirmed that the partner (employee) no longer works at the company.
“Starbucks has no tolerance for behaviour of this kind and we are very sorry for the experience that this customer had.”
* Article From: The Daily Express