A Starbucks in California refused to write the name a customer provided on their cup. The reason why? She told them to write “Charlie Kirk” on her to-go cup, leading to an exchange that left many people heated in her comments section.
In a video with over 480,000 views, Valerie Lewis (@valerielewis292) posted the encounter. She ordered a Grande Mint Majesty with two honeys when she approached the counter. When the barista asked for a name for the order, Lewis said “Charlie Kirk.”
The barista politely said, “We can’t do political names, but [the machine] didn’t ask for a name to begin with, so it’s going to be $3.70.” Lewis asked why they couldn’t write the name on the cup, and the barista placated her, saying that “the sticker wouldn’t print,” but she would be willing to write “Charlie” on her cup for her.
Lewis then asked again why they couldn’t write the whole name on the cup. The barista further clarified, “because it’s political.”
Does Starbucks have an anti-political name-writing standard?
Starbucks does apparently give its employees general advice for writing on to-go cup notes, but it’s unclear how this name-writing standard plays out across different stores. A Starbucks spokesperson spoke to The Mary Sue in an email, officially stating, “There is no restriction on customers using Mr. Kirk’s name for their order, and we’re working to understand what happened in this store. “
So, was Starbucks wrong?
Most commenters argued with Lewis, saying that Starbucks had every reason to refuse her order.
Lewis’ argument for getting the name written, in essence, was that Charlie Kirk’s death wasn’t political. As she stated in the video’s on-screen text, “I never went in talking about politics, just mentioned his name to be written on the cup to honor him.”
Lewis responded to a comment saying “[Charlie Kirk’s] not a politician!” saying, “Exactly!”
Despite that, many commenters disagreed with her line of reasoning.
News outlets such as Politifact, TMZ, and ABC News have referred to Kirk’s death as politically motivated in some way, shape, or form. Kirk was in the middle of a political debate when he was fatally wounded in Utah, and despite there still being a slew of evidence that needs to come out regarding Robinson, his shooter’s motivations do seem politically motivated based on evidence from the bullet casings and Robinson’s messages before the incident.
People defend the barista
In order to avoid a sticky situation with other customers, it would make sense for a barista not to write a political figure’s name on a cup, left or right-leaning, especially when recording it for content.
Despite Kirk not being a politician, he’s arguably a political figure, praised for inspiring thousands of Gen-Z voters in a move toward conservatism in both the 2020 and 2024 election cycles.
As one commenter put it, “Do you not understand how that would look if she was writing Charlie Kirk on people’s cup WHILE SHE IS AT WORK!!!!!!!! Politics is just not suppose[d] to be a topic at the workplace!”
Another added, “Hmm.. this sounds like ‘policy’ and not her personal decision. Because she was so nice about it and even said ‘I can write just Charlie.’”
Another mildly suggested, “Why can’t you just write it yourself? It’s not the employer’s fault.”
@valerielewis292 Today my husband walked into this Starbucks to order Charlie Kirk's drink, when they asked for his name he said "Charlie Kirk" she said, "pick another name" he asked why? she said "we don't do politics here" my husband didn't mention anything political, it was Charlie Kirk's name. She refused to write the name or say it. The barista walked over to my husband and handed him the drinks instead of using the name "Charlie" She is the one who brought up "politics" if she would have said "okay' then written the name, no politics would have been mentioned. I went in a few hours later…. here's the video ? #iamcharliekirk #prayforus? #turningpointusa?? @The Charlie Kirk Show @Turning Point USA ♬ original sound – Val_is_here!?
The Mary Sue has reached out to Lewis regarding the situation.
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