Indy barista fired over TikTok of ‘Blue Lives Matter’ drink with ‘bleach,’ ‘blood of innocent Black men’
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An employee of a Starbucks inside a Target store in Indianapolis has been terminated after posting a video on TikTok showing how to make a “Blue Lives Matter” drink made of “bleach” and “a little blood of innocent Black men.”
In a Tuesday statement to News 8, a Target spokesperson apologized for the “disturbing video” calling it “appalling and unacceptable.” The terminated employee of the Target store, located at 1300 E. 86th St., also “egregiously violated” the company’s food safety procedures in making the video, the statement said.
The video, which a Twitter user recorded from the social media platform TikTok and included in a tweet, starts by showing the Starbucks employee holding a clear Starbucks cup that has “Blue Lives Matter” written on the side.
The narrator of the video says, “First, we’re going to start with bleach, all the way to the third line. … Going to add ice because, you know, cops love ice. In a cold foam pitcher, we’re going to add more bleach, a little blood of innocent Black men.” The narrator of the video also adds a “special blue ingredient that Starbucks has” before blending the mixture and pouring it into the “Blue Lives Matter” cup.
A Target spokesperson said after talking to the employee, it is not believed that the drink was served to a guest, nor that it actually included bleach — just milk and water.
The video was removed from TikTok, according to Target. A search of TikTok showed that the user account that appeared to have posted the video was no longer publicly accessible.
Full statement from Target:
This video is appalling and unacceptable. We don’t tolerate this behavior at Target, want all guests to be treated with respect and have terminated the team member who was responsible. We also have rigorous food safety procedures in place, which this team member egregiously violated with this behavior. We’re deeply sorry for this disturbing video, which TikTok has removed based on the platform’s guidelines.
Additionally, after talking to the team member involved, we don’t believe this was served to a guest and don’t believe actual bleach was used, only milk and water.
Spokesperson for Target