A Starbucks barista who wouldn't serve a customer who refused to wear a mask has had more than $100,000 donated to him - and after an attempt to publicly shame him backfired, the customer now wants a cut of that money.
According to The New York Times, Amber Lynn Gilles claims she has been 'denied and discriminated against' and is threatening to sue for half of barista Lenin Gutierrez's crowdfunded cash, citing one reason: "Because they're using me to get it."
Gilles went into her local Starbucks in San Diego on 22 June - by which point many states in the country had mandated the wearing of face masks and coverings in public settings, except for those with certain health conditions.
Advert
But self-declared anti-vaxxer Gilles said that she believes that wearing masks is part of a conspiracy for the government to control the population.
Of course, with face masks used to reduce the person-to-person spread of the virus, Gutierrez was well within his rights to refuse to serve her - which is exactly what he did.
His actions saw many people praise him, with some even creating a fundraiser to send him virtual 'tips'.
Advert
But now the total has reached more than $100,000 (£80,200), Gilles has made her claim.
The story originally went viral when she posted a photo of Gutierrez, who was on shift at the time, with the caption: "Meet Lenin from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I'm not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption."
Gutierrez later explained in a video: "Before I could say anything she flipped me off and said, 'I don't need one,' and she started cursing up a storm. She started calling people sheep and she left and within a few minutes came back and she asked for my name and took a photo."
But mother-of-three Gilles said: "I never threatened him, I just called him out on his actions."
Advert
And after she tried to publicly shame Gutierrez, she's unhappy that the public response was not in her favour.
As reported by The New York Times, Gilles said: "I've received death threats, thousands. It's very upsetting, it's very scary."
She added: "I was denied and discriminated against. I didn't harass anyone, I called him out because I'm frustrated."
The newspaper reports she is now threatening to sue the creator of the GoFundMe page for defamation and slander.
Advert
Speaking to KGTV, Matt Cowan, who set up the page, said: "I set it at $1,000 thinking that was a reach but we would be lucky if we hit like $250, and when we hit $100 I was overwhelmed by that.
He said that he was happy that people were 'rallying around somebody for doing what they're supposed to do and trying to protect everyone else'.
Gutierrez is said to be looking at charities he could donate to, as well as using the money to help achieve his dreams of becoming a dancer.
Topics: Coronavirus, US News