Yelp has turned into a virtual political battleground in wake of White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders being asked to leave a restaurant over her political views.
On Friday, Sanders was reportedly asked to leave the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia, because she is a high-ranking official in the President Donald Trump's unpopular administration.
"Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left," Sanders wrote in a tweet about the incident. "Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so."
The controversy stemming from the incident was allegedly over Sanders being denied service. However, Jaike Foley-Schultz, a waiter at the restaurant, wrote in a now-inaccessible Facebook post that he served Sanders two minutes prior to her exiting the Red Hen.
Server updated the original FB post: pic.twitter.com/1bPAw02qoQ
— Brennan Gilmore (@brennanmgilmore) June 23, 2018
Owner Stephanie Wilkinson said her staff, who were composed of mostly migrants and members of the LGBTQIA community were uncomfortable with her being in the restaurant. Her chef brought up the issue initially.
“He said the staff is a little concerned. What should we do?” Wilkinson told The Washington Post. “I said, ‘I’d be down to see if it’s true.’”
She deliberated over asking Sanders to leave for a moment.
“I’m not a huge fan of confrontation,” Wilkinson said. “I have a business, and I want the business to thrive. This feels like the moment in our democracy when people have to make uncomfortable actions and decisions to uphold their morals.”
“Tell me what you want me to do. I can ask her to leave,” Wilkinson recalled telling her staff. “They said ‘yes.’ ”
Eventually, she gathered the nerve to confront Sanders.
“I was babbling a little, but I got my point across in a polite and direct fashion,” Wilkinson said. “I explained that the restaurant has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation.
“I said, ‘I’d like to ask you to leave.’ ”
Trump supporters, of course, were upset over the owner's alleged refusal to serve Sanders. So, they took their anger out on Yelp. Liberal supporters of the Red Hen clashed with the enraged Sanders supporters in back and forth reviews.
Negative reviews flooded the Red Hen's profile page but other restaurants with the same name came under attack as well.
With all of the backlash, Wilkinson stands by her decision no matter what.
