Two employees were fired from a Smoothie King in Michigan for refusing to serve a couple because the husband was wearing clothing with President Donald Trump’s name on it.
What did Smoothie King say about the incident?
On Monday, the Texas-based company shared a statement in a series of social media posts, confirming that the two workers were no longer employed at a franchised Ann Arbor location over alleged discrimination against the couple.
“Following an investigation into an incident involving a guest who was refused service at a franchised location in Michigan yesterday, the franchise owner has taken immediate action and the two employees involved are no longer with the business,” the company wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Smoothie King corporate officials and the franchise owner have reached out to the customer and apologized for the incident. The owner will also take “further action” and “enforce mandatory retraining for its employees that outlines our guest experience standards,” the company wrote.
The Smoothie King worker refused service to the couple over political views
The incident began when the wife said in her video that one of the Smoothie King workers, a young Black girl, refused to serve her and her husband because he wore a hoodie with Trump’s name on it, according to The Detroit News.
“We were just wanting a smoothie, and you literally looked at us, and I asked you if everything was OK, and you said, ‘We don’t feel comfortable serving you’ because of my husband’s hoodie. That is discrimination,” the woman says in the video.
She initially shared the video on TikTok, but it has since circulated on social media by controversial right-wing X accounts like @LeftismForU.
The worker’s GoFundMe for support has been taken down
The now-fired worker shared her side of the story on her GoFundMe page before it was taken down, per The Detroit News.
“Refused service to trump supporters, who recorded me as a minor without permission, after they posted the video it got hundreds of hate comments and threats making the job no longer safe to return to,” they wrote at the time.
“As a brand, Smoothie King is committed to ensuring our stores are a place free of discrimination of any kind, where every guest and team member is treated with care and respect,” the company wrote on X.