An incident at a Starbucks in Middletown, Ohio, has stirred controversy after a customer, Autumn Perkins, found a derogatory message written on her cup. Perkins, who mirrored the preference of the late conservative activist Charlie Kirk, ordered a “Mint Majesty” tea with two honeys. Upon receiving her drink, she noticed the label “racist’s fave drink” scribbled on the cup. Perkins expressed her anger on social media, decrying the unwelcome message and advocating for supporting local, Christian-owned coffee shops instead.
Starbucks, quick to address these unacceptable actions, stated it has strict policies against negative messaging. The offending employee, working at a Kroger-operated Starbucks, admitted to writing the message and has since been terminated. Kroger echoed Starbucks’ sentiment, confirming the dismissal and emphasizing that such behavior contrasts with its values.
Perkins, still visibly shaken by the experience, resolved to withdraw her patronage from Starbucks and encouraged her family to do the same. Her indignation reflects broader tensions in today’s discourse surrounding free speech and ideological divisions, especially after the recent shooting of Charlie Kirk, an event that garnered a mix of sympathy and criticism.
This Ohio incident follows another contentious episode involving Starbucks in California, where an employee allegedly refused to write Charlie Kirk’s name on a cup. The company has since clarified there are no restrictions on customers using Kirk’s name or any other name, as long as it doesn’t constitute a political slogan or offensive phrase. Starbucks reaffirmed its commitment to being an inclusive community coffeehouse that respects individual preferences for how they identify their orders.
In today’s polarized environment, businesses are increasingly finding themselves at the crossroads of maintaining customer service values while navigating political and social tensions that often reflect widely divergent public sentiments. Such incidents underscore the continual need for dialogue and mutual respect in all social interactions, a stance that Charlie Kirk, according to Perkins, stood for.