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‘It’s Almost a Racial Slur’: North Carolina Woman Fires Back at Honda Dealership After They Referenced Her In Offensive Post, Employee Responsible Fired

A car dealership employee is out of a job, and a business has since issued an apology after a North Carolina woman accused a Facebook post about her buying experience of being racist. 

Trinity Bethune told WTVD-TV that she was offended on Thursday, July 22, after seeing the photo the Lumberton Honda dealership shared of her posing in front of the car she had recently purchased. The caption, which read, “Congratulations to Bon Quisha on her 2016 Toyota Camry,” left her confused. She ultimately replied to the post, writing, “I’m not sure if this is a ‘joke’ or something but my name is definitely Trinity Bethune.” She added, “I’m very offended by this post, it’s almost a racial slur. If I’m not addressed by MY name then please don’t address me at all.”

The 21-year-old says she is considering taking unspecified legal action against the dealership, telling the outlet, “the name ‘Bon Quisha’ seems like a stereotype for someone, you know, for them to be like ghetto.” She added, “It’s something people use towards Black people as a racial slur and as an offensive term.” The Urban Dictionary, defines the term as “a loquacious white boy that acts like a Black women as a joke.”

On Friday, July 23, the Lumberton Honda dealership issued an official apology on Facebook expressing their sincerest apologies, stating that they “regret the recent inappropriate post towards one of our valued customers.” However, it continued, “The action of this former employee does not represent the views or culture of our company. Lumberton Honda has been part of the community for over 18 years, serving thousands of customers of all ethnicities.”

The establishment also explained that they were unsure of the motive behind the insensitive post. However, it has since been deleted, and the employee who uploaded it personally apologized to Bethune and has been fired. In addition, the owner of the dealership, who noted he was Native American, said the action of that one individual does not represent their diverse group of employees.

The dealership said the “incident reminds us that there is always room for improvement,” before concluded their statement offering their “sincere apology.” The added, “We are truly sorry.”

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