A Starbucks barista was berated by a customer in San Diego over the weekend for asking a woman to wear a mask.
The irate customer yelled "F**k Black Lives Matter" multiple times during a tirade in which she denounced the need for social distancing guidelines.
On Saturday afternoon, Starbucks employee Alex Beckom said a customer with a face mask pulled down to her chin verbally attacked her when she asked the customer to properly wear the face covering, The Hill reports.
A recording of the incident shows Beckom calmly asking the customer to fix her mask, but the patron responds that she was discriminated against for being a Trump supporter.
"When you talk to me like that, I know it's because you're discriminating against me because I'm a Trump supporter," the customer said. "F**k Black Lives Matter. I need a straw."
A white female disrespects a black barista after she asks her to pull her mask up.
pic.twitter.com/yQGwRGYdZo— BallerAlert (@balleralert) October 19, 2020
After soliciting help with her condiments, the patron then proclaims that the coronavirus is a hoax on her way out of the coffee chain.
"It's not a law," the customer yelled. "It's a hoax, I don't have to wear a mask, I'm not going to wear a mask. This is America. I don't have to do what you say! Trump 2020!"
Before actually leaving the Starbucks, the customer curses the Black Lives Matter movement at least twice during the viral video, but Beckom, 19, said she's gotten used to similar acts of racism in her line of work.
"I'm Black in America, so I've dealt with these kinds of situations before, so I am able to stay calm and collected in these types of situations because I don't want to risk my job," Beckom told NBC 7 San Diego in an interview.
In June, Beckom said she was with friends at a peaceful protest in the area when a group that said it was protecting stores from looters hurled slurs at Beckom’s group, and accused them of breaking into storefronts.
"We were in a car, nothing was happening. We were driving through the CVS. We had a Black Lives Matter sign that was maybe something that might have ticked them off, and one of them said, ‘You have a lot of nerve driving through here with this,'" Beckom told NBC 7 this summer.
Earlier this week, the 19-year-old set up a GoFundMe account for those who wish to support her following the tumultuous incident. According to the fundraiser, any donations will be used to help Beckom purchase books for college. The teenager also promises to split a portion of the proceeds, which have eclipsed $20,000, with her co-workers at the store.
According to The Hill, Starbucks said in a statement that the patron’s behavior was uncalled for and “is not welcome in our stores.”
The coffee industry giant also offered its support to Beckom, who it says “demonstrated tremendous composure during a very difficult" experience.
"We expect our partners and customers alike to foster a welcoming Third Place environment, and this behavior is not welcome in our stores. Our focus right now is providing support to our partner who demonstrated tremendous composure during a very difficult interaction," a Starbucks spokesperson said.