On the 22nd of June, Amber Lynn Gilles from San Diego, California, made a Facebook post, targeting Starbucks barista Lenin Gutierrez. She berated the guy because he refused to serve her for not wearing a face mask in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, her attempt to seek vengeance seriously backfired. Rather than agreeing with Gilles, tens of thousands of people have expressed their support for Gutierrez, defending him in the comments section of the now-viral post.
One of those who stood by Gutierrez's decision - which defies the county's guidelines - was Matt Cowan, who set up a GoFundMe campaign to thank the barista. In just a few days, it has already received over $27,000.
"All tips will be brought directly to the Starbucks location where Lenin works and given to him directly," Cowan reassured people on GoFundMe.
To show support for the barista, Matt Cowan set up a GoFundMe campaign
As of this article, it has received over $27,000
Which made Lenin release this video, explaining his side of the story
On Wednesday, Gutierrez uploaded a Facebook video to thank everyone for "all the love and support".
"It’s been so helpful and so shocking to see something get so big that only happened within a few minutes," the barista said, right before he took the opportunity to share his version of events.
Gutierrez said he was working the front register when Gilles walked into the establishment without a face mask. After he asked the woman if she had one, she said that she didn't need it and then proceeded to curse at him and call the other patrons "sheep".
Gutierrez then explained that Gilles left for a little while but came back and asked him his name and took a picture, threatening to "call corporate".
The guy explained how the encounter at the coffee shop went down
Talking about the donations he’s received, Gutierrez said that the money will allow him to once again chase his dream of dancing and teaching dance to children, which he had to stop when the coronavirus pandemic hit.
"From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much. It is just amazing to see that I can actually make these dreams pursuing more into dance a thing now. Thank you so much for it."
And it started a heated discussion
