A video of a white woman kicked out of a New York City bagel shop for not wearing a mask and unleashing a racist rant against a Black worker has gone viral on social media.
The footage, taken by 24-year-old New Yorker Jack Weil, shows 38-year-old Stephanie Denaro at the Davidovich Bakery stand inside Essex Market in Manhattan on Sunday morning with four children in tow, refusing to wear a mask.
“Ma’am, he’s not going to serve you so please leave,” a woman can be heard saying while a maskless Denaro stands at the counter in front of the Black employee, who has identified himself as Victor.
“Why? ‘Cause he’s a b-tch-ass n—-r?” Denaro responded. “That’s what he is, b-tch-ass n—-r. I just said it, you heard it.”
As other customers expressed their disapproval of the slur, Denaro added, “I can call him whatever I want.”
One customer said, “You’re white trash. You’re disgusting.”
Denaro responded, “Oh, I’m white trash because I have Black kids?” in reference to the four biracial children with her.
Denaro is an outspoken Trump supporter who believes the coronavirus is a hoax and has previously sued New York City over school closures due to the pandemic.
Denaro told the New York Post she never called the Davidovich Bakery employee a “b-tch-ass n—-r” despite the fact that the comment was clearly captured on video.
“I didn’t call him the N-word,” she said. “I called him a term to describe his behavior.”
Victor spoke to The Post on Wednesday, March 24, about Denaro’s denial of her comments.
“Honestly, I really don’t know where that response comes from,” he said. “I think that over a million people have seen the video, and as it states in the video, she actually said those words.”
Denaro, who fiercely opposes coronavirus restrictions, said she feels that her rights were violated when she was told she had to wear a mask.
“I’m a Christian and I don’t cover my face,” she said, adding that she feels sorry for Victor. Denaro said Tuesday she has “medical conditions” that prevent her from wearing face masks.
On her Instagram page, Denaro claimed in a Wednesday post that she was Black woman with 39% Nigerian heritage. She wrote, “All of you hating on me for no reason! News flash!!!! I AM BLACK!!!!! My skin color does not look dark but my ancestry results came back as me being black! So do not be made at me no more. Leave me alone. As a young black woman I love all of you!!”
In a video on her page, Denaro announced, “I’m a Trump supporter, I have a Black child with me that I gave birth to.”
Before closing her door to reporters, Denaro said, “I’d like to say Trump 2020. Long live President Trump. Have a good day.”
Marc Fintz-Davidovich, the bakery’s vice president, called Victor “brave” for his handling of the situation and added that Denaro will no longer be welcome at any of their shops.
“We can’t control what comes out of people’s mouth, but there’s zero tolerance for racism,” he said.
