A video of a transgender woman confronting a Popeyes employee and accusing him of gaslighting and harassing trans people after he allegedly called her "sir" is being widely circulated on social media, sparking a controversial debate.
Laura Hobbs, who goes by Commie DickGirl on social media, shared a video of an incident that took place in Tucson, Arizona, on her YouTube channel and amassed thousands of views since it was posted on Saturday.
Hobbs Says Employee Called Her 'Sir' and Then Lied About It
Hobbs, a food delivery driver, was picking up an order from the restaurant when an employee offered to get the door and referred to her as "sir," she told the Daily Dot.
Hobbs claims the employee had a "big grin on his face" when stating the pronoun. "I confronted him for addressing me as 'sir' and he gave me a raised eyebrow and simply denied it," Hobbs said. "I mocked him for calling an obvious woman with breast[s] sir. I told him he's lying and trying to gaslight me and that I was pissed and sick of people doing this."
She said the employee, identified as Alex Prevost, then told her "I don't give a f*ck, bro." That's when Hobbs pulled out her cellphone inside the restaurant and started recording.
'This Guy Called Me 'Sir''
The video starts off with Hobbs expressing her frustration with the harassment faced by trans people on a daily basis. "What's your name?" Hobbs asks Prevost, who can be seen behind the counter. "I'm gonna be talking to the manager. This guy called me 'sir'!"
"This happens every fu*king day. I'm so tired of it!" Hobbs says before questioning why he would call "a chick with big a*s tits" sir.
Prevost ] can be repeatedly heard saying, "I didn't say that," to which, Hobbs retorts, "No, stop trying to gaslight trans people and tell us we're crazy... You need to fu*king be mindful of other people, and stop being a scumbag, and you're a liar!"
'This is Transphobia'
Hobbs then leaves the restaurant before going back in and yelling, "Wait, what...Did you try to call me 'sir' again?"
She alleges again that Prevost called her "sir" twice when one of the other employees says Prevost called her "sir" only the second time.
Hobbs claims Prevost said, "Have a good night, sir" to her.
"People need to be held accountable for how they treat trans people," Hobbs says. "This is transphobia." The video then continues with a back-and-forth between Hobbs and Prevost.
"You're crazy, bro!" Prevost says. "Don't fucking call me bro!" Hobbs yells. "Stop fucking throwing slurs at me, you fu*king piece of s*it!"
"Have a good night, sis!" he responds. "No, fuck you! I ain't your fucking sis. I ain't your fucking bro. You don't even fucking know me!" she snaps back. Watch the full video below:
Prevost told the Daily Dot that he didn't call her "sir" the first time. "[She] kept accusing me of saying something I didn't say," he told the Daily Dot. Prevost admitted that he started "being rude back" to Hobbs after she "wouldn't stop."
"She tried making me look bad but I honestly don't care 'cause at the end of the day my entire crew saw what happened and I did nothing wrong except curse," he added.
Hobbs said she filed a complaint with the Popeyes' corporate office, which reportedly told her the incident will be investigated.
Social Media Sides with Popeyes Employee
Social media users rushed to Prevost's defense in the comments with one user writing, "I feel so bad for popeye's employees having to deal with guys like this."
"Someone needs to start a gofundme for Alex so he can go on a nice vacation. He's earned it," commented another. "If popeyes doesn't give Alex a raise I will never eat there again," opined yet another.
"I understand that trans people want to have their preferred pronouns used, and that's all well and good, but the kid seems to just be making an honest mistake. That's a far cry from harassment or discrimination, it's not like they wouldn't let her order because she is trans," a Reddit user wrote on a thread where the video was shared.
"Some people just want to scream and moan about stupid shit, and that extends to all people Trans or otherwise," commented another.
