Sarah Huckabee Sanders. | Photo: YouTube
A restaurant owner turned away White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders last night (23 June) for her gay employees.
At about 8pm, Sanders entered the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia with a party of eight people.
They ordered cheese boards, then put in their orders for mains.
But the staff recognized the Press Secretary and called the restaurant owner, Stephanie Wilkinson, to ask what to do. They were ‘concerned’ and uncomfortable about her presence.
In disbelief, Wilkinson drove down to the 26-seat restaurant to see for herself.
Once she got there, she confirmed the news and asked all of her staff how they felt about the Press Secretary’s presence in the restaurant.
The staff said they felt uncomfortable serving Sanders due to her defending Trump separating families during immigration processing and his transgender military ban. Some of the staff identify as gay, Wilkinson revealed.
So she said: ‘Tell me what you want me to do,’ reports The Washington Post. ‘I can ask her to leave.’
They all agreed they wanted her to leave.
So Wilkinson walked over to her table, introduced herself as the owner of the restaurant and asked to talk to Sanders outside on the patio.
She said: ‘I explained that the restaurant has certain standards that I feel it has to uphold, such as honesty, and compassion, and cooperation.
‘I said, “I’d like to ask you to leave.”‘
Sanders responded: ‘That’s fine. I’ll go.’
‘How is this any different than refusing to make a cake for a gay couple’s wedding?’
Wilkinson said the Press Secretary’s group didn’t have to pay for the food they’d ordered and everyone else could stay.
But when Sanders relayed the news back to them, they all got up and left.
Sarah Huckabee Sanders then took to Twitter to tell the story to her 3 million followers.
She tweeted: ‘Her actions say far more about her than about me.
‘I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so.’
Last night I was told by the owner of Red Hen in Lexington, VA to leave because I work for @POTUS and I politely left. Her actions say far more about her than about me. I always do my best to treat people, including those I disagree with, respectfully and will continue to do so
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) 23 June 2018
As soon as Sanders posted the tweet, people began flooding the restaurant’s Facebook page with one and five-star reviews. It now has over 88,000 reviews, at the time of writing.
Then some people pointed out the hypocrisy of Sanders supporting the refusal of bakers to make wedding cakes for same-sex couples and complaining about this latest controversy.
One person tweeted: ‘The baker had a right to not make a cake for a gay couple, right? This restaurant owner had a right to not serve you – someone who lies to the American people daily and on our dime.’
Another tweeted: ‘As a lawyer, I feel the need to explain something to you and your supporters.
‘The Red Hen refused to serve you, not all despicable people. It’s the legal equivalent of the baker refusing to do a cake based on the message NOT on the gay person ordering it,’ she said.
What do you think?
