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A woman who refused to wear a face mask is now demanding to be given half of the more than $100,000 (around P5 million) donated to a Starbucks barista whom she tried to shame for not serving her in San Diego, California.
Amber Lynn Gilles, 35, previously called out barista Lenin Gutierrez via Facebook on June 22 by posting a photo of him with the caption, “Meet lenen (sic) from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption.”
Lenin Gutierrez (Image: Facebook/Amber Lynn Gilles)
Gilles’ now-deleted post, however, drew backfire as her actions were condemned by netizens and many lauded Gutierrez for following COVID-19 health protocols.
California requires residents to wear face masks in most indoor settings and outdoors when social distancing is not possible.
One Orange County resident, Matt Cowan, has set up a GoFundMe page calling for “Tips for Lenin Standing Up To A San Diego Karen” following the coffee shop encounter. The fundraiser currently holds $105,445 (around P5.2 million), as of this writing.
Cowan has already given Gutierrez $100,000 in cash and shared the video of their meeting on YouTube on July 7.
Gilles has since claimed that she was entitled to half of the money because she was discriminated against, explaining she has health conditions preventing her from wearing masks, as per ABC-affiliate KGTV on July 14.
“It was discrimination and everybody is okay with it and enabling and rewarding that behavior,” Gilles was quoted as saying.
When asked if she wanted to apologize over the incident, Gilles replied, “No absolutely not. I feel like I need the apology. I’ve been discriminated against, I’m the one who’s sick.”
Gilles also revealed that she contacted lawyers about her getting half of the donated money to Gutierrez, but it turned out to be too expensive, so she started her own GoFundMe page instead.
Explaining her said health conditions, Gilles told the outlet: “One of them I get shortness of breath, dizziness and it messes with the heartbeat. 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.”
The woman also gave the news outlet two documents of her conditions, with one showing her pelvic exam result from 2015 stating “probable exophytic fibroid arising from the anterior wall of the uterus measuring 2.9 cm size” and a “simple 2.5 cm left ovarian cyst.”
The other document, meanwhile, showed a handwritten note stating, “Amber has underlying breath conditions that prevent her from wearing a mask or any type of facial covering whatsoever. Please contact me if have any questions,” the news outlet reported.
The said document is said to have been issued by a chiropractor whom Gilles asked to not be named. Gilles also explained that she asked a chiropractor for a breathing-related medical diagnosis because “they are dedicated to providing non-invasive personalized care and treatment. They are real doctors.”
Gilles, an anti-vaxxer, also believes that face masks are ineffective against the COVID-19 pandemic, contrary to advice from health experts, as per NBC-owned KNSD on July 11. Ian Biong /ra
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