A fundraiser for a Starbucks barista that was sparked by a Facebook post by a California woman who drowned out for not receiving service for not wearing a mask raised more than $ 100,000 last month.
San Diego woman Amber Lynn Gilles, who wrote the now-deleted Facebook post, says she feels she deserves half of the $ 105,445 that was raised in a GoFundMe campaign for barista Lenin Gutiérrez.
“It was discrimination and everyone agrees and allows and rewards that behavior,” Gilles told KGTV in San Diego.
Gilles also told the New York Times on June 27 that he wanted half the money “because they are using me to get it.” At that time, GoFundMe has raised around $ 87,000.
“They are using my name, they are using my face and they are slandering me,” he said.
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She started a GoFundMe page of her own on July 2 to raise money “to pay the legal fees to repair my character” after claiming that the fundraising page for Gutierrez had “slandered and defamed her.”
“This is because I was discriminated against and defended myself against legitimate discrimination,” she wrote.
This week, Starbucks began requiring all customers to wear masks or face covers when ordering inside their cafes, regardless of local or state guidelines.
Gilles told KGTV that he has symptoms that prevent him from wearing a mask.
“One of them makes it difficult for me to breathe, dizziness, and my heartbeat bothers me, ” he said.” And I also have asthma and it gives me masked acne. So various things are happening, and not only that, but (wearing a mask) doesn’t even work. “
During the interview, Gilles produced a handwritten note by a chiropractor saying that “he has underlying respiratory conditions that prevent him from wearing a mask or any type of facial covering.” KGTV asked him why he received a note about his breathing ability from a chiropractor.
“Because they are dedicated to providing personalized, non-invasive treatment and care,” he said. “They are true doctors.”
Gilles did not respond to a request for comment TODAY.
In his original Facebook post on June 22, Gilles posted a photo of Gutierrez with the caption: “Meet Lenen from Starbucks who refused to serve me because I am not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for the cops and bring an exemption medical. “
His post went viral, prompting Matt Cowan, an Irvine resident who did not personally know Gilles or Gutiérrez, to launch a GoFundMe page for Gutiérrez. He titled it: “Tips for Lenin to Face a Karen from San Diego.” He raised more than $ 105,445 before Cowan ended the campaign.
Gutiérrez responded by posting a video of thanks on his own Facebook page.
“I just wanted to thank you for all the love and support and what everyone is doing is an honor to see all of this happen, but I just wanted to remind everyone to be kind to each other, to love each other and to always remember to wear a mask.” he said in the video.
Cowan also posted a video on July 9 that shows him handing the cash over to Gutierrez in person.
Gutiérrez, who is also a dancer, said he wants to use windfall to study kinesiology at California State University, Fullerton.
“I just want to use this money to fulfill my dreams,” he said.
Cowan also commented on Gilles’ claim that he now deserves half the money donated to Gutiérrez.
“I thought this was over, but keep improving #StarbucksKaren,” he wrote Wednesday on his Facebook page. “Karen seriously thinks that people should apologize to her for ‘discriminating against her.'”
