Back in July, Starbucks made it a requirement for all customers to wear masks at its U.S. locations.
At the time, Starbucks explained that in places where there is no local government mandate to wear masks, customers who “may not be wearing a facial covering” will have other ways to place orders. The coffee-house chain gave non-mask-wearing people the option of ordering at the drive-through window, ABC News reported.
Most customers should be aware of the policy by now — especially regulars. But in San Diego, a Starbucks barista was berated by a customer who refused to keep a mask on inside the store. A video posted on social media went viral and shows the pro-MAGA customer yelling at the barista. The video was shot by another customer, John Glaude.
In the clip, barista Alex Beckom, 19, is seen helping two customers, one of whom is wearing her mask and another who appears to have her mask around her chin. The woman without the mask walked in wearing her face covering but lowered it to order. Beckom told the woman she would have to keep her mask up.
“I don’t have to wear a mask! I’m not going to wear a mask! This is America and I don’t have to do what you say! It’s a hoax! Trump 2020! F— Black Lives Matter!” the woman is responded.
Even as the woman was becoming irate, Beckom remained calm and polite. After saying “f— Black Lives Matter,” the woman asked Beckom for a straw and sugar, which Beckom handed over. Beckom reminded her once again to wear a mask inside Starbucks, Fox News reported.
“And again, next time you come in, I’m gonna need you to keep your mask on or else I can’t help you,” Beckom said, following Starbucks’ storewide policy.
The woman yelled, “It’s not a law” that she has to wear a mask, saying, “I can show you the penal code and everything. It’s a hoax. I don’t have to wear a mask. I’m not going to wear a mask.”
The woman then exited, only to return to the door and shout “f— Black Lives Matter.”
The video sparked outrage on Twitter. One user posted, “It always amazes me how people quote law when refusing to wear masks. Some local mandates requires masks so that’s the local law. But if no mandate, each business has a right to make their own mandate. What about this is confusing to reckless and maskless wearers”.
A corporate manager at Starbucks told CBS 8 it was looking into the matter.
“We expect our partners and customers alike to foster a welcoming environment, and this behavior is certainly not welcome in our stores. Our focus right now is providing support to our partner who demonstrated tremendous composure during a very difficult interaction,” said Jory Mendes, senior manager of corporate communications at Starbucks.
Beckom later told KGTV that she never mentioned politics to the woman, who was wearing a mask printed with “Trump 2020.”
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“If she thinks she’s being discriminated against, that’s on her,” Beckom told the TV station. “I never brought up anything about her politics… I wasn’t even angry. I was just like, ‘Why is this happening?’”
CNN has attempted to identify and contact the woman but local authorities are not sharing her name, KTVZ reported.
