A woman who caused a scene in a Starbucks for not complying with mask rules is now saying she is the one being discriminated against.
Amber Gilles first came to the public's attention in a video of her berating a Starbucks barista. She entered the California coffee house without a face covering, against state law. When Lenin Gutierrez, the barista at the register, asked her to put one on, she said she didn't need one.
Lenin was about to pass Amber a handout explaining the policy to customers when she began causing a scene. She gave Lenin the middle finger and began cursing at him before leaving the store. Amber returned with her phone, asked for his name, and took a photo of him to send it to corporate management. She also shared the photo to Facebook, where the story picked up steam.
A GoFundMe page was set up as a virtual tip jar to support Lenin. In less than a month, the GoFundMe raised over $100,000. Now Amber has reappeared and is demanding she be given half of that $100,000 for the supposed discrimination she's faced.
A woman who berated a Starbucks employee for asking her to wear a mask is now saying she is the victim in this situation. The incident occurred in late June, when Amber Gilles visited a Starbucks in San Diego. After Amber entered the Starbucks, the employee at the register, Lenin Gutierrez, asked her if she had a mask she could wear.
"She told me, 'No. I don't need one,'" Lenin shared in a Facebook video telling his side of the story.
"I was going to show her the paper that we've been provided saying that we require face masks, but we can still help — but before I can say anything, she flips me off, she says, 'No. I don't need one.' And she started cursing up a storm. She started calling people 'sheep' and she left."
Within a few minutes, Amber returned and asked Lenin for his name. She then took a photo of him, saying she was contacting corporate about his behavior. She continued to curse and yell at other patrons as she left. The encounter was bizarre, but Lenin figured it ended there.
Lenin didn't know that Amber would post about the incident on Facebook. "Meet lenen [sic] from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I'm not wearing a mask," she wrote.
"Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption."
A virtual tip jar was set up for Lenin on GoFundMe. The barista, who regularly works as a dance teacher but hasn't been able to since COVID-19 closures began, received over $100,000 from supportive people who commended him for doing what was right. He was floored by the generosity.
"With this donation that everyone provided me with GoFundMe, I can make these dreams reality," he said.
"I can fuel my passions even better now. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for it. It's just amazing to see that I can actually make these dreams of pursuing more into dance a thing now. Thank you so much for it."
Amber isn't done with this situation just yet, however. She told ABC 10 News that she believes she's entitled to half the money raised for Lenin.
"It was discrimination and everybody is okay with it and enabling and rewarding that behavior," Amber said.
Amber said that she's contacted several lawyers to find someone to take her case. Because of their price, she plans on starting a GoFundMe of her own to hire someone. She wholeheartedly believes half of that money belongs to her and that she owes no one an apology.
"I feel like I need the apology. I've been discriminated against, I'm the one who's sick."
Amber asserts that she deserves a medical exemption from wearing a mask. "One of them I get shortness of breath, dizziness and it messes with the heartbeat. And I do have asthma as well, and I do get mask-acne," she explained.
"So there's several things going on and not only that but it doesn't even work."
Amber provided the news station with two documents she believes qualify her for a medical exemption.
"One is a pelvic exam from 2015 with results that say 'probable exophytic fibroid arising from the anterior wall of the uterus measuring 2.9 cm size' and 'simple 2.5 cm left ovarian cyst,'" the station reports.
"A second piece of paper is a handwritten note with letterhead from a San Diego chiropractor who she asked not be named. The handwritten note reads 'Amber has underlying breath conditions that prevent her from wearing a mask or any type of facial covering whatsoever. Please contact me if have any questions.'"
ABC 10 News contacted the chiropractor, who refused to discuss her situation. Amber was asked why a chiropractor would have a medical diagnosis on her breathing, she replied, "Because they are dedicated to providing non-invasive personalized care and treatment. They are real doctors."
Since these events transpired, Starbucks has decided to make masks mandatory in all locations across the country.
"The company is committed to playing a constructive role in supporting health and government officials as they work to mitigate the spread of COVID-19," Starbucks explained in a statement.
"This decision was based on a growing number of government mandates requiring individuals to wear facial coverings while in public as well as guidance from the CDC and other public health officials and partner feedback."
