TikTok videos reveal ex Starbucks employees saying they were also misgendered following trans row
Videos showing former Starbucks employees claiming they were misgendered while working for the coffee company have emerged on TikTok - following the sacking this week of a transgender employee following a furious confrontation with a customer.
The clash between the transgender woman and the woman buying coffee broke out at a Starbucks branch near the ferry terminal of Southampton, Hampshire, on Sunday, April 30th.
A 56-second clip, filmed by a man outside the branch, shows the employee on the same side of the counter as the customer, arguing with her.
The person recording the incident said the woman had apparently said something 'transphobic' to upset the employee, who angrily refuse to serve her.
Now, other videos by employees of the high street coffee chain - filmed before this week's incident - have emerged showing baristas also claiming to be misgendered by customers buying coffee.
A TikTok clip posted in April last year saw barista @Meghannesium, thought to be from the US, and identifying as a transgender woman, claim she was misgendered while working at Starbucks
While it's not clear whether those in the videos still work for Starbucks, they all appear wearing the distinctive green barista apron bearing the Seattle company's distinctive logo.
Posted in April last year, barista @Meghannesium, thought to be from the US, and identifying as a transgender woman, shared a clip claiming she was misgendered while working at a branch of Starbucks.
In it, she dances to the song 'You just got slayed' as a caption reading 'getting misgendered at work' flashes across the screen.
In another video posted in 2020, TikTok user @karsyn_monoxide, who uses the pronouns 'they' and 'she' and is believed to be from the US, plays out a scenario where she says she was called 'sir' while serving coffee at a drive-thru.
A TikTok clip posted last year by @karysn_monoxide, who uses the 'she' and 'they' pronouns, played out a scenario she said had happened while working at a drive-thru. In the clip, she portrays a customer who calls her 'sir'
A third video, also dating back to 2020, was posted by transgender woman @charlottesinterweb, again believed to be from the US, which claims her manager encouraged her to get back on the shop floor after being misgendered by a customer.
The incident in Southampton this week, filmed by a man outside, saw an angry female customer saying to the transgender Starbucks employee: 'You're rude, don't ever call me transphobic, ever. You do not know me.'
In response, the transgender woman says: 'You're calling me a man, you're being transphobic, Karen. Now get out.'
'Karen' is a derisive insult imported from the US, taking aim at white, middle-aged women. Feminists have criticised it as a misogynistic term.
The conversation heats up, as the woman insists, 'do not call me transphobic'.
A clip posted in 2020 shows a transgender woman named Charlotte claimed she was encouraged to get back on the shop floor after being upset at being misgendered
The transgender employee then claps in the woman's face and denies her request for a refund, adding: 'You are transphobic, now get out.'
Repeatedly, the woman is told to 'get out' and that she is 'trespassing', before the employee appears to notice a man using his smartphone filming the encounter.
Without warning, the employee comes forward and lunges for the phone, demanding the man hand it over while appearing to assault him.
The footage prompted heavy criticism on social media, with many users copying in Starbucks' Twitter handle and demanding answers.
The transgender woman has now been sacked by Starbucks after footage showed her berating a female customer and allegedly assaulting a man who filmed the incident
The unearthing of the TikTok videos has evoked passionate responses, with one person on Twitter saying 'Respecting pronouns etc should be like an extra shot or a syrup: optional.'
Another added: 'Drop the pronouns or any little pronoun badges. People just wanna buy their coffee in peace.'
Another hit back in defence of those being misgendered, saying: 'As always, it's bizarre that actually progressive behavior - accepting that a male person can have long hair in "feminine" styles, wear makeup, wear feminine clothing - is demonized.'
Source: Daily Mail
