Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
then open in external browser
and click "Open in External Browser" 
User submission
14
“Five-Star Apology”: People Praise Chef Who Disrespected Influencer And Quit His Job Over It
A James Beard Award-nominated chef has exited his restaurant venture following a public fallout with a TikTok influencer he allegedly belittled for having too few followers.
The encounter, which unfolded at Kis Cafe in Hayes Valley, San Francisco, went viral after the influencer shared her experience on TikTok, sparking outrage among netizens.
Highlights
- A San Francisco chef allegedly mocked a TikTok influencer’s follower count before a collaboration.
- The incident led to public backlash, a plummeting Yelp score, and the chef’s exit from the business.
- The influencer has since gained over 350,000 new followers, and the chef has extended a lengthy apology, owning up to the incident.
The chef has since left Kis Cafe, before issuing a public apology that takes ownership of the embarrassing incident.
BP Daily - Your Source for Unbiased Reporting
TikTok influencer says she was mocked for not having enough social media followers
Image credits: itskarlabb / TikTok
The drama began whenTikTok creator Karla (@itskarlabb), who had around 15,000 followers at the time, arrived at Kis Cafe for what she stated was a pre-arranged collaboration.
According to her viral post, which now has over 20 million views, she arrived early to film content, only to overhear a man, later identified as Kis Cafe co-owner and acclaimed chef Luke Sung, openly discussing her follower count with staff.
Image credits: Carlos Avila Gonzalez / Getty Images
“I know they’re talking about me, because I can hear them saying ‘TikTok, views, followers,’” Karla said.
When she introduced herself, the chef allegedly interrogated her about whether she’d researched the restaurant, and then pulled up her TikTok page in front of her, playing her videos aloud, according to aNew York Post report.
Image credits: KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco / YouTube
After scrolling through a few clips, Sung allegedly told her that her videos weren’t at the level he wanted his restaurant to be represented by. He reportedly also dismissed Karla’s cooking videos as too “homey.”
“It seemed like he was insinuating that my followers would not be able to afford to eat at this restaurant,” Karla said in her viral video.
Image credits: itskarlabb / TikTok
The exchange escalated when Sung reportedly asked, “Do you know who I am?” before revealing his accolades as a two-time James Beard Award finalist.
He also name-dropped his daughter, TikTokinfluencer Isa Sung, who boasts over 600,000followers.
Image credits: itskarlabb / TikTok
Karla stated that the entire ordeal left her in tears and prompted her to withdraw from the planned partnership.
“I told him I felt disrespected and didn’t want to collaborate anymore,” she said.
The TikTok backlash forced the restaurant to respond and restructure
@itskarlabbits a long video and not something i would normally upload but i feel like i had to talk about this experience. i basically ran out of there but i wish i would’ve stood up for myself. if you are a micro influencer i know it’s easy to feel discouraged at times but don’t let anyone make you feel small or unimportant!!♬ original sound – itskarlabb
Karla’s video went viral, and thebacklash came swiftly. Kis Cafe’s Yelp rating nosedived from over four stars to just above two, and online reviews began calling out Sung directly.
Even Isa, the chef’s influencer daughter, was unexpectedly pulled into the controversy. Commenters also review-bombed Sung’s earlier restaurant, Isa, which was named after her.
Image credits: KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco / YouTube
Amid the firestorm, Karla’s own platform exploded. Her follower count ballooned from 15,000 to more than 380,000 in just a few days.
In subsequent videos, she clarified that she just wanted to use her story to spotlight how micro-influencers are often undervalued.
“You don’t need to have a million followers to be respected or feel like you’re making a difference,” she said.
Kis Cafe announced that Chef Sung had left the company amid the backlash
View this post on Instagram
Kis Cafe later posted a statement announcing that Sung was no longer involved in the business, and that the restaurant was temporarily closed to “restructure.”
While emphasizing that Sung left of his own accord, the business also acknowledged that “our chef’s behavior was unacceptable, and he is no longer a part of the team.”
Netizens were quite appreciative of Kis Cafe’s apology, though some still noted that everyone involved could have done better.
“That’s a five-star apology. Accepts responsibility, acknowledges what he did, recognizes the impact, commits to being better,” one commenter wrote on Reddit.
“Multiple things can be true. The chef was an as*hole and there’s no excuse for his behavior. The reaction and consequences (e.g. review bombing) were way out of proportion for what happened,” another wrote.
View this post on Instagram
“Seeing a full-chested apology is so rare that I’ll take it. He even apologized to her first! I’d never heard of this chef before, but I’m gonna seek him out once he has a new place. Everybody, and I mean everybody, f*cks up sometimes. It’s how we handle it that counts,” another wrote.
Chef Sung took ownership of the entire fiasco in a public apology on social media
Sung broke his silence in a lengthystatement on Kis Cafe’s official Instagram page, taking “full responsibility” for his actions and addressing Karla directly.
“I am truly sorry for my actions towards you,” he wrote, directly addressing Karla. “I was condescending, hurtful, and intimidating. You did not deserve to be made to feel less than or unimportant, nobody does.”
Image credits: KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco / YouTube
Sung said he initially apologized privately to Karla and had already stepped away from the restaurant in all capacities before posting publicly, according to aKRON4 report.
He stressed that the incident was entirely his fault and urged the public not to blame his staff or his daughter, who he said had worked hard to build her own career.
Image credits: itskarlabb / TikTok
“There are no excuses to be made, and I’ve decided it’s time for me to step away from Kis Cafe permanently and in all capacities.
“I also want to be clear, the responsibility of this whole situation is mine alone, and my behavior should not be a reflection on anyone else who works there, or anyone who is related to me,” Chef Sung wrote.
Chef Sung issued a public apology of his own after stepping down
Image credits: itskarlabb / TikTok
The chef also offered a heartfelt apology to his daughter, expressing regret for putting her in the crosshairs of angry netizens.
“All I have ever wanted to do is give you the opportunity to create a better life for yourself than the one I grew up with, and I’ve failed you in the worst way.
@isaasung thank you for listening ❤️♬ original sound – isa
“I came to this country to give all of my kids the best chance to work hard toward their goals, and now I’ve given the public nothing but a reason to tear them down for my actions.
“I am sorry for disrespecting all of your efforts and hard work to build your careers.”
Image credits: KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco / YouTube
“To Karla, my kids, and everyone else in the hospitality industry, I hope you will accept my apology and thank you for taking the time to listen to me,” Chef Sung wrote.
Netizens shared their thoughts on the Kis Cafe controversy on social media
Poll Question
Total votes ·
Thanks! Check out the results:
Total votes ·
Newsletter
Subscribe to Access
Exclusive Polls
By entering your email and clicking Subscribe, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy.
Thank you! You've successfully subscribed to newsletters!
18Kviews
Share on Facebook What do you think ?
Ryan-James O'Driscoll 4 months ago
They both sound pretty awful tbh. But the relish of her supporters in destroying someone's career is just foul.
Ms.GB 4 months ago (edited)
I'm not understanding. Did he already agree for her to come in and he just assumed she had a lot of followers? Either way it's nice that he gave a real apology because you don't see that too often. I hope people give him the second chance he deserves. Regardless of how people feel about influencers you shouldn't treat people like that, he should have just told her he no longer wanted to collaborate but this is also no reason for someone to go scorched earth on the guy. We're all people, we all have lives and feelings. None of us deserve to be treated as less and none of us deserve to have our lives ruined over one interaction.
Load More Replies...
David 4 months ago
So an "influencer" with zero talents of her own destroys a restaurant and the people who work there. I'm sure she is very proud of her behavior...perhaps at some point she will understand that her non-importance in the real world was not a reason to harm so many other people...all so she could get a free meal and make herself feel relevant. She is a walking trash bag.
Zoe Vokes 4 months ago
I don’t think he needed to be rude, especially if she was invited there for a collaboration. I assume the other owner was the one that invited her because the chef seemed unimpressed by her follower count and hadn’t watched her videos beforehand. He kind of had a point - I don’t think 15,000 followers is going to do much for their business. How many of her followers are real people and in the local area who would potentially visit the restaurant? But he didn’t need to be rude to her face.
Load More Replies...
amy lee 4 months ago
I call it a fever dream... It has felt like a fever dream since 2010
Load More Replies... David Andrews 4 months ago
Pathetic. And if you are claiming to be an "influencer", that means your social media is your business. Another business you are potentially going to work with has every right to review and question your content to decide what benefit working with them will bring. Still, she got attention and praise from strangers, at the expense of people who actually work for a living, so got what she was looking for
turk 4 months ago
It's not like this arrogant b-word can't ever sit down, order a meal and just enjoy it without informing the world. God f-in forbid.
Load More Replies... 
Robyn Hill 4 months ago
So now people who seem to have no job other than to sit on their computers all day making videos for a handful of people can determine whether an award-winning professional not only gets to stay at his job or not, but whether he can be forced to terminate OWNERSHIP IN A BUSINESS HE HELPED TO START? These influencers are f-ing delusional, and so are their pathetic followers.
TCW Sam Vimes 4 months ago
Influencers are a plague. About as likable as cockroaches. The world, especially the US, has become completely stupid
Apatheist Account2 4 months ago
Thank goodness I retired before I ever had to "collaborate" (look up the wartime meaning) with an "influencer". Sadly, it's going to be the way the world will go - free product in exchange for free advertising. Ad agencies will be the ones to suffer (and anyone who does things just because an influencer says to).
KatSaidWhat 4 months ago
Soon there will be no actual workplace people and the influencer generation will wonder where everything went.
Michelle C 4 months ago
Given his evident class and dignity in apologizing and taking responsibility for his behavior, I’ll patronize wherever he ends up if I’m in the area. I hope Karla is encouraging her followers not to mistreat him anymore.
Damned_Cat 4 months ago
If a business is collaborating with an influencer, don't they have a right to interview that influencer to see if they meet the business's needs? Sometimes the answer is "no" and both sides need to accept that. What if this was a contractor that the chef/owner was interviewing for a renovation and he decided he didn't want to use that contractor? Should his business suffer because he didn't think the contractor could meet his needs? That said, it does seem like egos got in the way from both parties. Unfortunately, the influencer had more opportunity to publicly tell her side of the story and rally her troops than the restaurant owner did. That was a hard lesson learned for the chef/owner.
sofacushionfort 4 months ago
The do-nothing influencers vs the overpriced overhyped restaurants remind us of Oscar Wilde’s description of British aristocrats fox hunting: "the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable"
FranSinclair 4 months ago
My inital thought was "its his business. I dont think he should be rude but he may have realized the cost might not be worth it if enough viewers wont bring in a profit. I also think if her cooking style isnt what he wants his food associated with, that has to be okay. Sometimes the truth hurts." BUT then i realized (from the sounds of it) that this co op was already a planned upon agreement. He knew his own daughter had more followers, i certainly hope he researched her before entering an agreement with her. Idk if im understanding, friends. Did she go there, without them knowing, attempt a discussion and get shot down or did she show up for work she was hired for and then belittled?
C. S. M 4 months ago
The whole situation is an inherently toxic platitude, and nobody wins. We're in a situation that truly needs to exterminate the 'influencer' culture, in order for society to continue with a modicum of decency. The shiat that's cultivated nowadays is a poison to societal norms, and it's heading towards a destruction of polite society as we knew it. This trend will not end well. It's why I have nothing to do with 'social media.'
Historyherstory (old guy) 4 months ago
Someone with a job lost theirs because of someone without a job, but rather a hobby of which she is not trained. She could have the pallet of a rhinoceros for all we know! I kid of course because he was somewhat a t**t as well. I declare even-steven!
zovjraar me 4 months ago
i don't think this is about influencers or counts. it's about having manners. guy had no manners and is paying for being rude. the lesson has nothing to with influencers- it's just brought to light because of them. be nice to people!
Ryan-James O'Driscoll 4 months ago
They both sound pretty awful tbh. But the relish of her supporters in destroying someone's career is just foul.
Ms.GB 4 months ago (edited)
I'm not understanding. Did he already agree for her to come in and he just assumed she had a lot of followers? Either way it's nice that he gave a real apology because you don't see that too often. I hope people give him the second chance he deserves. Regardless of how people feel about influencers you shouldn't treat people like that, he should have just told her he no longer wanted to collaborate but this is also no reason for someone to go scorched earth on the guy. We're all people, we all have lives and feelings. None of us deserve to be treated as less and none of us deserve to have our lives ruined over one interaction.
Load More Replies... David 4 months ago
So an "influencer" with zero talents of her own destroys a restaurant and the people who work there. I'm sure she is very proud of her behavior...perhaps at some point she will understand that her non-importance in the real world was not a reason to harm so many other people...all so she could get a free meal and make herself feel relevant. She is a walking trash bag.
Zoe Vokes 4 months ago
I don’t think he needed to be rude, especially if she was invited there for a collaboration. I assume the other owner was the one that invited her because the chef seemed unimpressed by her follower count and hadn’t watched her videos beforehand. He kind of had a point - I don’t think 15,000 followers is going to do much for their business. How many of her followers are real people and in the local area who would potentially visit the restaurant? But he didn’t need to be rude to her face.
Load More Replies... amy lee 4 months ago
I call it a fever dream... It has felt like a fever dream since 2010
Load More Replies... David Andrews 4 months ago
Pathetic. And if you are claiming to be an "influencer", that means your social media is your business. Another business you are potentially going to work with has every right to review and question your content to decide what benefit working with them will bring. Still, she got attention and praise from strangers, at the expense of people who actually work for a living, so got what she was looking for
turk 4 months ago
It's not like this arrogant b-word can't ever sit down, order a meal and just enjoy it without informing the world. God f-in forbid.
Load More Replies... Robyn Hill 4 months ago
So now people who seem to have no job other than to sit on their computers all day making videos for a handful of people can determine whether an award-winning professional not only gets to stay at his job or not, but whether he can be forced to terminate OWNERSHIP IN A BUSINESS HE HELPED TO START? These influencers are f-ing delusional, and so are their pathetic followers.
TCW Sam Vimes 4 months ago
Influencers are a plague. About as likable as cockroaches. The world, especially the US, has become completely stupid
Apatheist Account2 4 months ago
Thank goodness I retired before I ever had to "collaborate" (look up the wartime meaning) with an "influencer". Sadly, it's going to be the way the world will go - free product in exchange for free advertising. Ad agencies will be the ones to suffer (and anyone who does things just because an influencer says to).
KatSaidWhat 4 months ago
Soon there will be no actual workplace people and the influencer generation will wonder where everything went.
Michelle C 4 months ago
Given his evident class and dignity in apologizing and taking responsibility for his behavior, I’ll patronize wherever he ends up if I’m in the area. I hope Karla is encouraging her followers not to mistreat him anymore.
Damned_Cat 4 months ago
If a business is collaborating with an influencer, don't they have a right to interview that influencer to see if they meet the business's needs? Sometimes the answer is "no" and both sides need to accept that. What if this was a contractor that the chef/owner was interviewing for a renovation and he decided he didn't want to use that contractor? Should his business suffer because he didn't think the contractor could meet his needs? That said, it does seem like egos got in the way from both parties. Unfortunately, the influencer had more opportunity to publicly tell her side of the story and rally her troops than the restaurant owner did. That was a hard lesson learned for the chef/owner.
sofacushionfort 4 months ago
The do-nothing influencers vs the overpriced overhyped restaurants remind us of Oscar Wilde’s description of British aristocrats fox hunting: "the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable"
FranSinclair 4 months ago
My inital thought was "its his business. I dont think he should be rude but he may have realized the cost might not be worth it if enough viewers wont bring in a profit. I also think if her cooking style isnt what he wants his food associated with, that has to be okay. Sometimes the truth hurts." BUT then i realized (from the sounds of it) that this co op was already a planned upon agreement. He knew his own daughter had more followers, i certainly hope he researched her before entering an agreement with her. Idk if im understanding, friends. Did she go there, without them knowing, attempt a discussion and get shot down or did she show up for work she was hired for and then belittled?
C. S. M 4 months ago
The whole situation is an inherently toxic platitude, and nobody wins. We're in a situation that truly needs to exterminate the 'influencer' culture, in order for society to continue with a modicum of decency. The shiat that's cultivated nowadays is a poison to societal norms, and it's heading towards a destruction of polite society as we knew it. This trend will not end well. It's why I have nothing to do with 'social media.'
Historyherstory (old guy) 4 months ago
Someone with a job lost theirs because of someone without a job, but rather a hobby of which she is not trained. She could have the pallet of a rhinoceros for all we know! I kid of course because he was somewhat a t**t as well. I declare even-steven!
zovjraar me 4 months ago
i don't think this is about influencers or counts. it's about having manners. guy had no manners and is paying for being rude. the lesson has nothing to with influencers- it's just brought to light because of them. be nice to people!
Related on Bored Panda
-21
37