Starbucks Breaks Silence On Viral Incident Where Barista Wrote Hate Message To Customer

An Ohio woman claimed she would never set foot inside a Starbucks outlet ever again.

Autumn Perkins accused a Starbucks employee of scribbling a snarky message on her cup after ordering Charlie Kirk’s favorite drink from the global coffee giant.

“I don’t intend to spend another penny at Starbucks,” said the disappointed customer.

An Ohio woman claimed she would never set foot inside a Starbucks outlet ever again

Image credits: Autumn Perkins/Facebook

A couple of months before Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on a Utah college campus, a video of him sharing his favorite Starbucks drink went viral online.

He also said in the July video that there was a reason why he drank that one particular beverage from the popular brand.

“I literally drink this for one reason,” he said.

Image credits: TR/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)

“Because I lose my voice very easily. It is literally just Mint Majesty Tea with two honeys. And I drink like nine of them a day. Otherwise, I’d lose my voice,” said the slain conservative activist.

Autumn Perkins had ordered the very same drink this month and said she left with a bitter message on her cup.

Charlie Kirk said he used to drink nine cups of his favorite Starbucks drink for “one reason”

Image credits: Gage Skidmore/Flick

The unexpected series of events took place when Autumn, a resident of Middletown, Ohio, decided to buy herself a drink from a Starbucks outlet located inside a Kroger.

The coffee shop was reportedly run by the Kroger store.

When she received her drink, the woman was flabbergasted by a message written by an employee on her cup.

@liveimporter#news#fyp#charliekirk♬ original sound – liveimporter

“Racist’s fav drink,” read the message scrawled on the cup.

Autumn shared a picture of the cup online and said several Kroger representatives had gotten in touch with her over the issue.

“It’s time for people to stop this nonsense,” she told Fox News Digital.

“I feel like Charlie stood for respect — we don’t have to agree on everything,” said the disgruntled customer

Image credits: Autumn Perkins/Facebook

“I feel like Charlie stood for respect — we don’t have to agree on everything. We can disagree on a lot of things, but we respect each other,” she told the outlet.

“We can’t communicate and grow if we’re disrespecting each other.”

Autumn said she often visits Starbucks since it’s ‘readily available’ while traveling, but she has now sworn off the chain.

Image credits: Gage Skidmore/Flick

“I don’t intend to spend another penny at Starbucks — and as far as I’m concerned, neither will my children or anybody else in my family who will listen to me,” she declared.

In the comments section of her post, the disgruntled customer said the store took the matter “very seriously” and had terminated the employee in question.

“I want everyone to know that I just received a phone call from a manger [sic] for Kroger and the employee was terminated this morning,” she wrote in one comment.

Autumn declared that she wouldn’t “spend another penny at Starbucks”

Image credits: Autumn Perkins/Facebook

“Between last night and this morning I have had several Kroger employees reach out to me and they took this very seriously,” she added.

She called herself a “long time customer of this particular Kroger location” and said she was “pleased” with their response.

“Thank you Kroger for doing what was right. I appreciate you just as you have shown that you appreciate me,” she said.

Image credits: Autumn Perkins/Facebook

Kroger reportedly confirmed the employee’s termination and told Fox News Digital: “This behavior does not reflect Kroger’s values.”

Starbucks acknowledged the incident and said it was “unacceptable” to write such a message on a cup.

“We have clear policies that prohibit negative messages to help preserve a welcoming environment. This Starbucks location is licensed and operated by Kroger. We understand that this associate was terminated by Kroger,” read Starbucks’ statement.

A TikTok video recently went viral, capturing a barista refusing to put the name “Charlie Kirk” on a customer’s cup

Image credits: skoloneb4idie/X

Starbucks was recently at the center of order-related controversies, with many netizens sharing their experiences of ordering the Mint Majesty Tea with two honeys.

One viral TikTok video posted on September 16 captured a Starbucks employee refusing to write the name “Charlie Kirk” on a customer’s cup.

“[We] can’t do political names” but can “write Charlie,” the barista said.

“Why can’t you write the whole name?” asked the customer.

“Because it’s political,” replied the staffer.

Image credits: Awake_IL/X

In light of similar viral posts, Starbucks was forced to release a statement clarifying what messages can and cannot be written on cups.

“There are no restrictions on customers using Charlie Kirk’s name on their order, and we are following up with our team,” read the statement released last week.

In light of recent order-related controversies, Starbucks was forced to release a statement about what its baristas can and cannot write on cups

@mikedropnews#starbucks#chicago#enough#wearecharlie#charliekirk♬ Under Pressure – Remastered 2011 – Queen

In another lengthy statement shared the following day, the coffee giant gave additional clarifications on what its employees can write on cups.

“When a customer wants to use a different name [to their own] — including the name Charlie Kirk — when ordering their drink in our café, we aim to respect their preference,” read the statement.

The chain said the brand was built on “human connection,” and assigning a name instead of a number to a customer has been the “core part” of the Starbucks experience for decades.

However, while most patrons use their own names, others “abuse the system,” they said.

The coffee giant claimed some of the messages on cups were written by customers after the beverage had been served to them

Image credits: Erik Mclean/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)

“Over the years, we have had instances where some people have tried to abuse the system,” the statement said. “For example, they’ve provided something that isn’t a name at all, but rather a political slogan with the aim of having our barista shout it out as they hand off the finished drink. And in some cases, as their ‘name,’ they have provided words that are s*****ly explicit or otherwise offensive.”

They clarified that any name, on its own, can be used by customers for their café order. But there are “clear policies that prohibit political slogans or negative messages to help preserve a welcoming environment.”

@therealsherricarrigan Mint Majesty #charliekirk♬ original sound – The Sherri Carrigan Show🎙️

Starbucks also asserted that some of the “critical” messages written on orders of “Mint Majesty tea with two honeys” were added after the beverage had been served to the customer.

“We’ve reviewed recent social media posts alleging that critical comments were written on Starbucks cups,” the statement said.

“Our investigation, which included a review of timestamped in-store video footage, confirms that in the cases shared so far, the comments were not written by a Starbucks partner,” the statement continued. “They appear to have been added after the beverage was handed off, likely by someone else.”

The coffee chain concluded by saying they are committed to creating a “welcoming space where every customer can enjoy a great cup of coffee served by a friendly barista.”

“My local Starbucks absolutely hates making them,” one user commented online about Charlie Kirk’s favorite Starbucks drink

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