A Cinnabon worker in Wisconsin has been fired after using racist and Islamophobic language toward two Black Somali customers at the store.
When did the racist incident at Cinnabon happen?
The incident was shared in a TikTok video Saturday by a user who claimed to be the cousin of the Somali woman. In the clip, the employee, a white woman, called herself a “racist” and used other derogatory terms toward the couple from behind the counter, according to The Grio and People.
“I am racist and you are a n***a,” the worker said. “I am racist and I’ll say it to the whole entire world. Don’t be disrespectful.”
In the video, one of the customers, a woman, can be heard saying, “You’re ruining your life, by the way.” The other, a man, had questioned the worker’s claim about “respect” while she put up her two middle fingers, flipped them off, and told them to “suck it” as she gestured her crotch area.
When one of the customers asked, “What’s wrong with you?” the worker replied, “What the f**k is wrong with you, you f**king ugly bitch.”
Cinnabon speaks out on social media following the racist outburst
Cinnabon has since issued a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, and said: “We’ve seen the disturbing video from the Cinnabon bakery in Ashwaubenon … and we do not condone this behavior. The former employee was immediately terminated by the franchise owner.”
“Their actions do not reflect our values or the welcoming experience every guest deserves,” the Georgia-based bakery chain added.
The Somali couple’s GoFundMe and the ex-worker’s crowdfunding campaign, explained
According to a GoFundMe campaign created for the couple, the woman, Farhia Ahmed, and her husband were shopping on Friday at the Bay Park Mall in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, a suburb of Green Bay.
After taking a break, they decided to get a quick bite from a Cinnabon store inside the mall. When they approached the counter, Farhia allegedly ordered a caramel pecan cinnamon roll. She then asked the worker to add more caramel because there wasn’t enough, and asked whether she was running low.
The employee responded that she would have to warm up the caramel but didn’t want to make it too hot to avoid burning her hands, the GoFundMe reads. Then, she said unprovoked, “You could see me squeezing it through that witch-craft bandana you’re wearing on top of your head,” insulting Farhia’s hijab. This part of the incident can be seen in a second TikTok video shared by the family member.
“Shortly after, [Farhia] called me crying,” the organizer, Sabrina Osman, wrote. “She has been traumatized, anxious, and scared to go outside since this happened.”
The campaign was created by Farhia’s cousin to raise money for the couple’s legal fees and attorney costs. They have raised over $4,000 of the initial $45,000 goal.
According to ABC News, a competing campaign has been launched by the Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo to support the now-fired worker, and it has raised tens of thousands of dollars.
What did Trump say about Somalians?
The racist incident follows a series of verbal attacks President Donald Trump hurled at Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, as well as immigrants from Somalia and other countries, Blavity and NBC News reported.
“She’s always talking about the Constitution,” Trump said of Omar after an event at the Oval Office, per NBC News. “Go back to your own country and figure out your own constitution.”
Omar reportedly fled Somalia during the East African country’s civil war and lived in a Kenyan refugee camp before coming to the U.S. at age 12, per NBC News.
During the event, Trump also spoke negatively about Somalia and how the immigrants have ruined Minnesota. According to reports, there are approximately 80,000 Somali residents in the state.
“Somalia is considered by many to be the worst country on Earth,” Trump said later, adding that “what the Somalian people have done to Minnesota is not even believable.”