The food outlet chain Smoothie King has said two of its employees are “no longer” working for the company after they refused to serve a man who was wearing a President Donald Trump hoodie, as well as his wife—an incident which went viral on social media.
On Monday, the chain wrote in a post on the social media platform X that “following an investigation into an incident involving a guest who was refused service at a franchised location in Michigan yesterday, the franchise owner has taken immediate action and the two employees involved are no longer with the business.”
A video shared on TikTok by account user @enl1986, who has been reported by the New York Post as Erika Lindemyer, seemingly shows a woman and her husband, who she calls Jake in the video, in a Smoothie King outlet, believed to be in Ann Arbor, arguing with the employees.
Newsweek contacted Smoothie King via email and the account that posted the video via social media outside of regular working hours for comment.
Why It Matters
The incident highlights ongoing political tensions during Trump’s second term, and how this year, opinions on the president have been become increasingly polarized, following the implementation of a number of policies, particularly around those to do with immigration.
What To Know
In the video, the woman said to the employees: “We were just wanting a smoothie and you literally looked at us and I asked you if everything was OK and you said: ‘We don’t feel comfortable serving you’ because of my husband’s hoodie. That is discrimination.”
One of the employees then responded: “OK, well, have a great day.” The woman replied: “That is illegal.” Another employee then can be heard saying: “I said, ‘Trump discriminates [against] us.'”
“OK, well that has nothing to do with us getting a smoothie,” the woman said. One of the employees then said: “OK, well that’s who you support though, that’s who you love.”
Later in the video, the woman can be heard saying: “What’s embarrassing is that we’re American citizens.” A Smoothie King employee then said that they have the “right to refuse service.”
“You asked a question and [the other employee] gave you an answer. Have a great day. Have a great day. The door’s right there,” the employee said, pointing off camera.
At the end of the video, the woman said: “Yeah, I am gonna call the police,” although it is not clear if she did. The video has accumulated more than 20,000 views on the woman’s TikTok account since it was posted.
Smoothie King added in its X post that “both the franchise owner and Smoothie King corporate have reached out to the guest several times to apologize and will continue to follow up.”
The chain said that the local chain in Michigan is “taking further action and enforcing mandatory retraining for all employees that outlines our guest experience standards.”
What People Are Saying
The TikTok user @enl1986, who shared the video of the confrontation in the Ann Arbor Smoothie King chain wrote on the social media platform: “Tik tok please bring light to this situation. My husband and I were refused service because of a hoodie! How discriminating is this! @smoothieking do better! What happened to land of the free because of the brave.”
In a polarized era, the center is dismissed as bland. At Newsweek, ours is different: The Courageous Center—it’s not “both sides,” it’s sharp, challenging and alive with ideas. We follow facts, not factions. If that sounds like the kind of journalism you want to see thrive, we need you.
When you become a Newsweek Member, you support a mission to keep the center strong and vibrant. Members enjoy: Ad-free browsing, exclusive content and editor conversations. Help keep the center courageous. Join today.
About the Author
Discover more from USA NEWS
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
