Wisconsin waitress fired for refusing to serve transphobic customers has no regrets about putting her 'morals over money'
A waitress has no regrets putting her "morals over money" after she was fired for refusing to serve transphobic customers at a Wisconsin restaurant on Saturday.
Brittany Spencer eavesdropped on a couple making derogatory comments about a transgender customer who was sitting at the bar when she was working her shift at Fat Joe’s Bar and Grill in the town of Fond du Lac. According to her, as she went up to serve them, they asked her what she thought about the trans individual, NBC News reports.
"They were asking me if I thought it was disgusting and wrong and why we would let someone like that into the establishment," Spencer told NBC 26. "To which I answered, ‘No, I do not agree with that,’ and walked away."
Spencer then approached her manager to ask if another employee could serve the table as she was uncomfortable, but she rejected her request. “She essentially told me to suck it up or go home," Spencer told the outlet. "To which I said, ‘OK, I will leave.’"
Spencer took to social media that night to share what happened, explaining how she was sent home for refusing to serve the customers. The next day, she couldn't believe her ears when the restaurant's manager informed her she'd been relieved of her waitressing duties.
“I WAS FIRED FROM MY JOB BECAUSE I REFUSED TO WAIT ON A TABLE WHO WERE MAKING TRANSPHOBIC REMARKS ABOUT GUESTS AT ANOTHER TABLE,” Spencer wrote on Facebook Sunday. “But I’ll always choose my morals over money. See ya.”
The news set off an inundation of negative reviews on Fat Joe's Facebook page, forcing them to disable the same. Speaking to NBC 26, co-owner Tad Wallender said the restaurant serves customers of all walks and stripes and that Spencer was fired for “refusing to do the duty we hired her for.”
"We are going to serve anyone in here as long as it's a safe environment," Wallender said. "I've been in the service industry for a good 15 years, and I've heard hundreds of conversations I didn't agree with, but it's a matter of fact of brushing it off and having to tough it out through your task.”
That said, Spencer received tremendous support on social media for protesting transphobia. She later lodged a complaint with the qual Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), a federal agency that works to prevent workplace discrimination.
"Ignoring hate and ignoring people talking like that is not being neutral," Spencer said. "That's allowing hate to happen in your establishment, and I didn't think that was appropriate so I left. Turning a blind eye to hate is just as bad as saying the hateful things in my opinion."