A Starbucks customer’s hateful and homophobic diatribe went viral on social media after she accused a lesbian couple at a Florida coffee shop of child grooming.
The woman’s bigoted outburst was shocked and condemned by the staff and other patrons present.
The now infamous video, posted on TikTok by Cassie Urry on Sunday, has since been viewed nearly 7 million times by Tuesday.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, Urry shared how she and her friend, Lorrin Skrbec, traveled to Miami for a cruise to the Bahamas and stopped at a Starbucks in Coral Gables on March 6.
Urry sensed something was wrong with the store’s atmosphere and soon realized that everyone was staring at a woman who was loudly spewing racist and anti-Asian sentiments.
When Skrbec intervened verbally, Urry decided to record the incident on her phone.
The video captures the blonde woman, wearing glasses and a lime green dress, making baseless accusations against the lesbian couple.
She suggests that homosexuality is bad and leads to childr*pe, leading staff and customers to speak out against her snide words. Despite the setback, the woman remains unrepentant, even taunting the pair for filming her.
The clip ends with the store’s manager stepping in to deal with the situation, but Urry and Skrbec were understandably shaken by the incident.
The homophobic diatribe has been rightly condemned and the woman’s identity remains unknown at this time.
After the upsetting incident, Urry revealed that both she and her friend were left in a state of shock.
The situation left them angry and overwhelmed with a range of emotions, but they knew that reacting aggressively would not help the situation.
Urry acknowledged that it was impossible to reason with the woman as her beliefs were based on hatred and bigotry. As a result, they decided to keep their cool and have no further contact with the woman.
According to Urry, Starbucks employees were quick to check on them and make sure everything was okay after the meeting. The coffee chain has also spoken out against the woman’s hateful behavior.
A spokesperson for Starbucks said the company does not tolerate discrimination and that women are no longer welcome in their stores.
Despite the upsetting event, the couple decided not to let it ruin their vacation. They focused on enjoying each other’s company and making the most of their trip.
Urry recognized that it was important to put the incident behind them and not let it affect their free time.
