A man says he was verbally and physically assaulted at a Georgetown Chick-fil-A because he was wearing Lululemon shorts. In a video with over 168,000 views, @arianagrandeslave explained his predicament with another customer in line at a Texas location of Chick-fil-A.
“[This guy] was basically making fun of me for wearing [these] really short shorts,” @arianagrandeslave said in the video. “I wear [these] to work out. It’s summer. It’s hot. I go running. What’s up with wearing 5-inch inseam shorts?”
He continued, “[The incident] was so uncalled for, I was embarrassed in public. I don’t plan on going back to that location anymore. Out of the managers and everyone [at that location], no one stood up for me until the guy left, except for this one guy, Wyatt.”
@arianagrandeslave said Wyatt was a volunteer firefighter from Belton. He was the only person who cared that he was being harassed. The creator eventually had to call the police and explain to them that he was a victim in the situation. Managers at the Chick-fil-A location apparently spoke to him afterward, telling him sorry for the incident that had just occurred.
In a statement he posted in the comments, @arianagrandeslave asked that other TikTokers not harass the Chick-fil-A location.
“Please don’t leave any reviews suggesting it was an employee, because it was a customer. I’m also not posting the video or pictures of the guy, because I don’t think being doxxed and having his whole life exposed [is] going to get me anything good at all,” he wrote. “I’m not forgiving him, though, he can talk to the DA. I also found the really nice witness, Wyatt, and left a really long message… I have yet to hear back.”
Was it a case of discrimination?
@arianagrandeslave doesn’t go into much detail about what occurred when he was harassed and physically assaulted. Despite this, there’s a significant chance he was discriminated against for wearing ‘feminine’ clothing. This is based on the exchange’s context clues and his description of events. He also said that the man assumed he was homosexual and that he was “disgusting” because of this.
Physically assaulting someone and harassing them until they have to call the police due to wearing small shorts is gender-based discrimination. Hate crime laws and ordinances do apply to incidents such as @arianagrandeslave’s. This is considering the fact that the incident appeared to be incited because of his gender and possibly incited due to his perceived sexual orientation. The attack is about punishing gender non-conformity rather than being mindless, thereby making it discriminatory.
Georgetown’s discrimination
Georgetown is a city outside of the Austin metropolitan area with a population of around 114,000 people. Despite being a relatively large city directly outside the Austin metropolitan area, there’s always a possibility of gender- and sexual orientation-based hate crimes occurring. There isn’t any direct evidence to prove that discrimination occurs at a different rate than in other areas in Texas, but discrimination against people of different races, religions, genders and identity groups happens everywhere.
In a recent sweeping change, the city of Georgetown just passed a hate ordinance to protect against hate-based intimidation targeted toward “race, gender, religion or background.”
Is it a Texas thing?
@arianagrandeslave said, “I cannot wait to get out of this place…” in his video description, referring to Georgetown.
Many other commenters wondered whether or not Georgetown, and even Texas at large, can still be a safe place for people who don’t conform to traditional gender norms.
One commenter said, “Most of Texas has always been hateful and more people are starting to show it as someone who’s always lived here. I’ve always wanted out of here. This state has never been inclusive.”
Another added, “I moved to Georgetown about a year ago and I literally felt like I time traveled. The rudest most racist people ever, everywhere you go!! Praying we can find a better place to live.”
More and more people seemingly find it difficult to live in the state due to hate-based discrimination, despite new ordinances in certain municipalities protecting individuals.
@arianagrandeslave i cannot wait to get out of this place…. #austintexas #georgetown #georgetowntx #assaultawarness #chickfila #mlm #texas ♬ original sound – rioshieee
The Mary Sue has reached out to @arianagrandeslave via TikTok direct message and Chick-fil-A for comment.
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