A transgender coffee shop employee in Lincoln, Nebraska, was fired for telling a customer never to come back because she supported conservatives.
“I went into [Cultiva Espresso & Crepes] for breakfast like I do once a week,” Marilyn Synek, 23, described the incident to the Washington Examiner on Thursday. “An employee approached me, called me by name, and started yelling profanities at me. [The employee] asked me to leave and informed me that if I tried to come back, I would be denied service because of my ‘bigoted’ views.”
Synek remembered being told, “You are f–king bigoted trash, and we do not want you in our restaurant. Over 80% of the people who work here are queer. You are not f–king wanted in our restaurant, so get out and don’t come back!”
Responding in a statement on Facebook, the coffee and crepe shop wrote in part, “The employee was fired almost immediately, and the rest of the day has been spent apologizing to the customer. While we’re proudly liberal personally, and believe in human rights and diversity to the fullest degree, let it be known that we would *never* condone treating a customer this way. We’re running a business, and we try to instill professionalism in our staff, usually successfully.”
“We’re more than happy to have people sit in our stores and discuss politics with civility, as has been a tradition in coffee shops for centuries,” the shop also said. “When the heat rises to this level, it’s not good for anybody.”
The employee, Natalie Weiss, said she had shouted in “vulgar” terms because she knew Synek had volunteered for Republican Nebraska Sen. Ben Sasse and the Nebraska Family Alliance, where she is currently employed as a communications specialist. Sasse’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
“When this person was leaving the store, I told them in no uncertain terms, and admittedly vulgar ones, that they were not welcome to come back. For that, I have lost my employment,” Weiss said on Facebook. “So, for those keeping track, in Nebraska, you can be fired or lose your home because you identify in the LGBT2QIA+ umbrella, and you can also be fired for telling people who fight for that status quo to get lost.”
After being fired, Weiss told her former employer to “Go f–k yourselves.” Synek said she plans on going back to the coffee house in the future.
