Woman tries to publicly shame barista for not serving her without mask, GoFundMe raises $60k for him, same woman wants to sue for portion of proceeds

[Damien]

https://heavy.com/news/2020/06/amber-lynn-gilles-san-diego-karen/

In San Diego County, public health officials have mandated that anyone over the age of two is required to wear a face covering in public to avoid spreading the coronavirus unless they have a medical condition that prevents them from doing so.

Gilles, who has been referred to online as a San Diego “Karen,” shared a picture of the barista who she said would not serve her on June 22. She wrote that “next time I will wait for cops” and later told NBC San Diego that she felt she was discriminated against at the coffee shop.

The barista, identified as Lenin Gutierrez, countered in a video explanation that he simply asked Gilles whether she had a mask before she became angry with him. A GoFundMe campaign launched in support of Gutierrez has raised nearly $60,000.

Gilles posted a picture of Gutierrez on Facebook along with the address of the Starbucks in San Diego. In the post, she implied she had a medical reason for not wearing a mask but did not elaborate. She wrote, “Meet lenen from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption.”

The post went viral, but the reactions took off in a different direction than Gilles was likely expecting. Thousands of commenters jumped to Gutierrez’s defense and slammed Gilles for attempting to shame him for doing his job. Some remarked that if she didn’t want to wear a mask, she could have used the drive-thru.

Lenin Gutierrez shared his side of the story in a video posted to Facebook. He explained that when Gilles came into the store without a mask, he asked her if she had one. She responded “no” and said that she did not need one.

Gutierrez explained that he intended to show Gilles the order stating that Starbucks is required to ask customers to wear face masks, adding “but we can still help.” But Gutierrez said he was prevented from saying that to Gilles because she started “cursing up a storm” at him.

He said Gilles “called people sheep” and left the store, only to return minutes later to take a picture of him. Gutierrez said Gilles threatened to call the corporate office and was “cursing some more at everyone” before leaving again. The Washington Post reported that after sharing his side of the story on Facebook, Gutierrez’s manager asked him not to discuss the incident publicly any further.

A man named Matt Cowan created a fundraiser for Gutierrez on GoFundMe. Cowan wrote on the page, “Raising money for Lenin for his honorable effort standing his ground when faced with a Karen in the wild.” He added that all donations were “personal gifts” to Gutierrez.

Gutierrez has expressed gratitude for the donations on social media. He says he plans to use the money to pursue his dream of becoming a dancer and a dance teacher.

Gilles, meanwhile, is angered over the GoFundMe campaign. According to NBC San Diego, Gilles intends to file a lawsuit against Cowan for “defamation and slander.” She also told the network she wants a portion of the money that was raised.

More in the link including how she is an anti-vaxxer, racist and conspiracy theorist.

 

[Rado_N]

Stupid bitch, glad it backfired on her.

 

[adexkola]

I love that his name is Lenin

Slightly unrelated, I drove by a butcher shop and the name had Adolf in it...

 

[Red Stone]

Have we reached peak Karen yet or will it continue to get even worse than this?

 

[Mr Pigeon]

How can she sue when she's the one who took a photo and posted it online? Just sounds like someone who will never admit that they were wrong.

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

Yep, just sounds like another in a long line of entitled twats.

Go Lenin!

 

[Paxi]

Haha what fecking whopper.

 

[Sky1981]

Does americans call the cops on anything and everything?

In here we don't want to call the cops, unless it's a very serious crime

 

[Shane88]

Does americans call the cops on anything and everything?

In here we don't want to call the cops, unless it's a very serious crime

They're terrified of everything.

 

[Dr. StrangeHate]

How can she sue when she's the one who took a photo and posted it online? Just sounds like someone who will never admit that they were wrong.

So she is female Trump without the trust fund.

 

[Hammerfell]

She looks like absolute trash.

 

[Carolina Red]

feck off, Karen.

 

[Ish]

She’s embarrassing. Not that she cares, I’m sure.

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

So she's an anti vaxxer, anti 5g, anti face masks, anti social distancing, anti BLM... these people are so predictable.

 

[Mogget]

Am I the only one confused about why people are donating money to the barista?

 

[Damien]

Am I the only one confused about why people are donating money to the barista?

I think it started off as a show of support by a few people as she was seemingly trying to get him fired by posting his picture, name and the address of the Starbucks where he worked on social media but then it ballooned.

 

[esmufc07]

So she's an anti vaxxer, anti 5g, anti face masks, anti social distancing, anti BLM... these people are so predictable.

Pro Trump?

 

[Olly Gunnar Solskjær]

Pro Trump?

I don't know but would be shocked if she wasn't.

 

[Dr. Dwayne]

Hahahah facemask orders pwning Trumpers.

You don't like it? Go live in a red state!

 

[diarm]

Does americans call the cops on anything and everything?

In here we don't want to call the cops, unless it's a very serious crime

It's absolutely batshit isn't it?

I think I've called the cops twice in my life. Once when I was robbed and another time when I was walking home from work and saw a young fella getting the shit kicked out of him by 3 men.

I reckon if I called the police in Ireland to tell them someone wouldn't serve me a coffee, my ears would be ringing from the abuse I'd receive for a week.

 

[Cloud7]

Does americans call the cops on anything and everything?

In here we don't want to call the cops, unless it's a very serious crime

The ease with which Americans call the police for things is really strange. Off the top of my head no one in my household has ever actually called the police for anything.

 

[calodo2003]

Pro Trump?

Undeniably.

 

[Green_Red]

How can she sue when she's the one who took a photo and posted it online? Just sounds like someone who will never admit that they were wrong.

yea, he should sue her for defamation. Add it to the 60K.

It's mad that someone can have a gofundme that makes 60K just because someone tried to shame them on the internet.

The Gilles guy that started the gofundme could have chosen his words a littler better. He might find himself in hot water.

 

[utdalltheway]

Cowan is the guy that started the go fund me. Gilles is the Karen.
Anyway, she sounds like nutcase.

Btw, if Starbucks policy is to ask people to wear masks why didn’t they kick her as soon as she walked in?
I get he asked her is she had a mask, but what’s the point of that? Do they have a mask policy or not?

 

[Florida Man]

Big salute to you Comrade Lenin!

 

[bleedred]

cnut lawyers like these who enable these idiots are exactly what's wrong with America!

 

[Man of Leisure]

Crazy fecking Karen. Call me cynical, but there'll eventually be another story when this Matt Cowan inevitably decides to keep the GoFundMe dough for himself.

 

[utdalltheway]

cnut lawyers like these who enable these idiots are exactly what's wrong with America!

Yeah, it’s like a lack of common sense and decency. No lawyer should take her case; they should just tell her stop acting like a bitch and move on. Simples.
It’s too easy for lawyers though, as they know their cut which pays for their lifestyle is going to be big. Easy money.

 

[DrRodo]

interesting read, which explains why there will always be Karens in this world.

She probably has borderline or narcissistic personality disorder. It's hard to love them but they will be always with us

 

[Carl]

Has she said yet what her "medical exemption" is?

 

[Man of Leisure]

Has she said yet what her "medical exemption" is?

Severe case of bitchitis

 

[Carl]

Severe case of bitchitis

Thought so.

 

[yumtum]

Am I the only one confused about why people are donating money to the barista?

I find it crazy, there is no way I'd donate to someone who had their picture taken against their will, it wouldn't surprise me if people start faking these ridiculous scenarios just to get some cash.

 

[Sky1981]

As an outsider I find the whole situation amusing

The barrister gets 60k for dealing with an obnoxious customer
The Karen actually sueing the guy to get her share
The Karen's lawyer actually comes up with this
The Karen would go to court and might actually win the 60k
The crowd actually raised 60k for this shenagigans? I mean I'm on the barrisa side but there's a plethora of things more important than this like needing fun for cancer treatment?
Someone actually start a Gofundme for this?
The Karen wants to call the cop for all this simple hassle? I mean, just go to different starbucks.
Somehow you'd wonder if the whole thing is an elaborate Saul Goodman scam
There will be courts that actually wants to deal in this whole mess

Don't know where to start.

Cowan is the guy that started the go fund me. Gilles is the Karen.
Anyway, she sounds like nutcase.

Btw, if Starbucks policy is to ask people to wear masks why didn’t they kick her as soon as she walked in?
I get he asked her is she had a mask, but what’s the point of that? Do they have a mask policy or not?

It's not that simple, Most workers would simply try to ask them nicely, at times they just pretend it's not an issue and serve her anyway. Policy or no policy going against the customer is never a good thing, even if you're right it's your word against her most of the times. Sometimes the smarter Karen would complain behind him and before you know it you'll be sacked the next morning without knowing why.

That's before they play the racist card, it's hard to argue when the customer tells the cop "X is uttering racist remarks", it literally is your words against them.

In this instance it ends well (or not) but in many other similar instances the outcome isn't always on the worker's side

 

[utdalltheway]

Costco doesn’t have that problem: no mask ,no service. Easy.

 

[Gehrman]

Can a Karen please harass me?

 

[Sky1981]

Costco doesn’t have that problem: no mask ,no service. Easy.

Costco is a differenr animal. They have security and actual firepower legally to enforce it. You can't make a fuzz at costco without being escorted out.

A starbucks barrista in small shop won't take th3 risk confronting angry karens.

 

[utdalltheway]

Costco doesn't have security, at least none that I’ve been to. They stuck to their policy and no one is forced to shop there. Or to put it another way, they grew a pair.
Starbucks should try that.

 

[Man of Leisure]

Costco is a differenr animal. They have security and actual firepower legally to enforce it. You can't make a fuzz at costco without being escorted out.

Which Costco have you been going to? I wouldn’t classify the old ladies checking your membership at the door and receipts as you leave as “security”.

 

[Sky1981]

Which Costco have you been going to? I wouldn’t classify the old ladies checking your membership at the door and receipts as you leave as “security”.

Hmm.. sorry... I thought they're like woolworth or Walmart equivalent. My bad