Smoothie King fires Black employees after refusing service to Trump supporters
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Former Smoothie King employees face harassment from the right-wing after refusing to serve a couple wearing a Trump hoodie in a viral video.
Smoothie King has fired two employees after they refused to serve a man wearing a Trump hoodie, in an incident that has since gone viral online. This week, the smoothie company released a statement announcing that the employees involved are “no longer with the business.”
The situation was captured on video and initially posted to TikTok by @enl1986, who outlets report to be Erika Lindemyer. In the video, Lindemyer and her husband are seen interacting with Smoothie King employees who refuse to serve them, citing discomfort with the man’s pro-Trump hoodie. Their refusal sparked a verbal back-and-forth during which Lindemyer accused them of discrimination.
“We were just wanting a smoothie, and you literally looked at us, and I asked you if everything was okay, and you said, ‘We don’t feel comfortable serving you’ because of my husband’s hoodie,” she’s heard saying in the video. “That’s discrimination.”
To which one of the employees is heard saying, “Trump discriminates (against) us,” per WGXA.
Couple at Smoothie King refused service because of the husband’s shirt pic.twitter.com/IkVMzBWUQm
— IG: olesoul57.2 ♉️ 5/12 (@olesoul57_2) March 2, 2026
As the video made its rounds across social media channels, Smoothie King took to social media to address the situation: “As a brand, Smoothie King is committed to ensuring our stores are a place free of discrimination of any kind, where every guest and team member is treated with care and respect. Following an investigation into an incident involving a guest who was refused service at a franchised location in Michigan yesterday, the franchise owner has taken immediate action, and the two employees involved are no longer with the business. Both the franchise owner and Smoothie King corporate have reached out to the guest several times to apologize and will continue to follow up.”
— Smoothie King (@SmoothieKing) March 3, 2026
Since the incident, one of the Black employees seen in the video, who is a minor, says she’s been harassed by right-wing Trump supporters. Similarly, many social media users are calling for a boycott of the smoothie franchise.
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