Starbucks customer who refused to wear mask demands half of barista’s $105,000 in tips

Don Sweeney
·2 min read

A customer who had a tiff with a Starbucks barista over face masks — earning the worker $105,000 in donations — now says she wants half the money.

Amber Lynn Gilles had posted a photo of Lenin Gutierrez to social media, calling Gutierrez out for refusing to serve her at the San Diego coffee shop unless she wore a mask, McClatchy News previously reported.

Gilles’ post inspired supporters of Gutierrez to start a GoFundMe account to raise “tips” commending him for standing up to her. The page had raised $105,000 by Wednesday.

“It was discrimination and everybody is okay with it and enabling and rewarding that behavior,” Gilles said, according to KGTV. She says she’s owed half the money raised for Gutierrez.

Two arrested after coughing on Walmart employees, refusing to wear masks, AZ cops say

Gilles said she’s unable to wear a mask, citing a 2015 pelvic exam for ovarian cysts and a hand-written note from an anonymous chiropractor, according to the station.

“One of them I get shortness of breath, dizziness and it messes with the heartbeat,” Gilles said, KGTV reported. “And I do have asthma as well, and I do get mask-acne. So there’s several things going on and not only that but it doesn’t even work.”

Gilles, a 35-year-old mother of three, describes herself as an anti-vaxxer, KNSD reported.

“It starts with coffee but it ends with digital certificates and forced vaccinations,” Gilles said, according to the station.

‘I have COVID-19.’ Costco shopper spits in face of man with no mask, Illinois cops say

Gilles said she’s spoken to attorneys about taking her case but they are too expensive, so she has started her own GoFundMe, KGTV reported. However, no account under her name could be found on the site.

Gutierrez, 24, has already received $100,000 of the money and called the outpouring of support “mind-blowing,” the Los Angeles Times reported.

“It’s more money than anyone in my family has ever had,” Gutierrez said, according to the publication. He plans to use the money to go to college and study dance.