A gay couple said they were humiliated and secretly filmed while eating at a vegan restaurant in Detroit by an employee who turned out to be the son of the eatery’s owners, Yahoo reports.
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The employee has since been fired after it was discovered that he posted a video teasing and using homophobic and racial slurs to talk about Shayne Starr and his boyfriend from across the room at Vegginini’s Paradise Cafe.
Starr said he had no idea that he was being filmed until friends started tagging him to tell him that the employee posted the video to Instagram (which has since been deleted), which was laced with a series of expletives and homophobic slurs.
“Look at this f—– a– n—– right here,” the employee said in the video, laughing, among several other profanities.
Starr said he chose the café because he was looking for a safe space and the restaurant’s favorable reviews were encouraging.
“I researched their mission and thought it would be a safe space for me,” the 24-year-old said.
But Starr said once he entered the restaurant, he felt uneasy “immediately upon entry.”
“We sat down, and the entire time we were there, I could see the employees inconspicuously talking amongst each other and staring but I ignored them as I talked to the lady I believe to be the owner, who was waiting on us,” Starr wrote on Facebook along with a video of the incident.
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“When the owner was done and rejoined the other employees, she had her back turned to me, on her phone, shaking her head and the others kept turning and looking at me. I assumed they were being rude and talking about me but I tried to ignore it. As someone who has been openly queer their entire life, I’m no stranger to this kind of treatment from people.”
Starr said he rushed drinking his smoothie after how a waiter’s body language made him feel.
“I ate so fast it made my stomach hurt because I could tell they just wanted me to leave, as all their customers had weird looks at me too,” Starr explained. “I had my boyfriend go up to the glass and pay because I was too anxious about doing it. I left feeling like a freak and an oddity. I usually feel this way 99% of my time out of the house, and I’m usually unbothered.”
Vegginini’s issued an apology on Facebook.
“When a friend told me about the video, I wasn’t surprised — and that’s sad,” Starr told the outlet.
“I should feel destroyed, but this happens so much I am emotionally dead to it.”
“Friends have tagged me in social media posts — they know who I am — but no one has contacted me to apologize,” Starr said. “I’m really surprised by the number of people who have defended me. I feel alone so often, but I’m getting a crazy amount of love. Everyone deserves to be treated with love. You may not accept me, but I am no exception.”