An Ohio woman said a Starbucks barista wrote “racists fav drink” on her cup after she ordered Charlie Kirk’s favorite beverage.
In a Facebook post on Sep. 21, Autumn Perkins shared a photo of a drink she ordered from a Starbucks inside a Kroger on Towne Boulevard in Middletown. The Ohio city is the hometown of Vice President JD Vance.
In her post, Perkins said she was doing what some other Kirk fans have done since his death: ordering his favorite Starbucks drink, a “Mint Majesty” tea with two honeys.
Perkins said the drink bore the insulting message. She shared a photo of the cup on Facebook.
“The girl at Starbucks thought she was cute,” Perkins wrote in the post. “I don’t even support Starbucks bc of everything they stand for starting with their satanic logo, but I support Charlie Kirk so I thought you know what… I’ll get his drink.”
“Thank you Starbucks for proving to me exactly why I prefer to support my small local Christian owned and operated coffee shop. Well done,” she wrote.
Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, was known for his conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, and publicly lauded by the Trump administration for helping motivate young Republican voters.
He was also known for his sometimes controversial opinions, which some considered misogynistic, xenophobic and racist.
Kroger: Starbucks employee was fired
The Starbucks store is operated and licensed by Kroger, which also manages the coffee shop’s employees.
A Kroger spokesperson confirmed to The Enquirer that a Starbucks employee was fired after the incident, and said this behavior does not reflect the grocer’s values.
“Writing this on a cup is unacceptable,” a Starbucks spokesperson wrote in an email to The Enquirer. “We have policies that prohibit negative messages to help preserve a welcoming environment.”
The Enquirer reached out to Perkins on social media, but did not receive a response.
Previous ‘critical’ messages not written by baristas, Starbucks says
Starbucks responded to viral social media videos about Kirk’s fans ordering his favorite drink last week.
A Chicago Starbucks temporarily closed after a TikTok user said a barista wrote “Loser” on a cup containing Kirk’s signature order.
Starbucks said on Sept. 17 the company reviewed timestamped in-store video footage and found alleged “critical” cup messages were not written by baristas, and appeared to have been added after the drink was handed off to the customer.
Another TikTok user said a Starbucks barista at a California store wouldn’t write Kirk’s name on her drink because it was “political.”
In its statement, Starbucks said baristas are not allowed to write political slogans on cups, but a name, like Charlie Kirk, is ok. The coffee chain said it had voiced the distinction to employees.
This story was updated to add a gallery.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Starbucks barista at Kroger fired after writing ‘racists fav drink’ on Charlie Kirk order
Reporting by Victoria Moorwood, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
