A white employee who refused to serve a Black customer waiting in line for ice cream is out of a job after a video of the frustrating encounter went viral.
The employee kicked Da’Mon Sanders Jr. out of an Insomnia Cookies location in St. Louis, Missouri, after inquiring why he was being denied ice cream when people in front of him hadn’t paid for theirs yet.
In the Nov. 11 video, the employee claimed, “My ice cream is closed,” but Sanders said he watched her serve white customers moments after forcing him out.
He wrote in the caption of his Instagram Reel: “These YT boys walked in not even two minutes later and got some ice cream. I waited and watched outside just to see if she would serve them!”
The brief clip quickly went viral, drawing nearly 3 million views within hours as commenters flooded the post and tagged the company.
As one put it, “So this is how y’all operate?”
Viewers also bombarded the company’s official Instagram with hundreds of responses.
Echoing the sentiments of several other commenters, one person wrote: “Right, so black people can’t get ice cream ‘past closing time’ but white people can… right.”
The same day Sanders posted the video, Insomnia Cookies confirmed they no longer employ the woman involved in the viral confrontation.
“We’re aware of a video of an interaction between an Insomnia Cookies employee and a guest at our Delmar bakery. The employee’s conduct was unacceptable and has no place at Insomnia Cookies.” The company added that they fired the employee.
“We value every Insomniac who walks through our doors, and it is our responsibility to ensure that every member of our team treats our guests with warmth and respect.”
