The national chain Smoothie King has issued an official response to a viral video that appears to show a customer wearing pro-Trump apparel being refused service at one of its locations, saying the employees involved have been fired.
It all started when TikTok user @enl1986 posted a video that appeared to show two employees refusing to take an order from a man she identified as her husband, Jake.
The stated reason for the refusal of service was that Jake was wearing a sweatshirt with Trump’s name on it.
The interaction reportedly occurred at a Smoothie King location in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
“As a brand, Smoothie King is committed to ensuring our stores are a place free of discrimination of any kind, where every guest and team member is treated with care and respect,” a statement from the company said. “Following an investigation into an incident involving a guest who was refused service at a franchised location in Michigan yesterday, the franchise owner has taken immediate action and the two employees involved are no longer with the business.”
The company added that both the franchise owner and corporate representatives had reached out to the guest multiple times to apologize and would continue to follow up. It also said the local owner will implement “mandatory retraining” for all employees.
location in Michigan yesterday, the franchise owner has taken immediate action and the two employees involved are no longer with the business. Both the franchise owner and Smoothie King corporate have reached out to the guest several times to apologize and will continue to follow
— Smoothie King (@SmoothieKing) March 2, 2026
In the video, the woman can be heard telling the employees, “We were just wanting a smoothie and you literally looked at us and I asked you if everything was OK and you said: ‘We don’t feel comfortable serving you’ because of my husband’s hoodie. That is discrimination.”
One of the employees responded, “OK, well, have a great day.”
“That is illegal,” the woman replied. A second employee then chimed in, saying, “I said, ‘Trump discriminates [against] us.'”
Woman claims Smoothie King in Michigan wouldn’t serve them because her husband was wearing a Trump hoodie
Any comment @SmoothieKing?? pic.twitter.com/ASmMBDE7gG
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) March 2, 2026
“That has nothing to do with us getting a smoothie,” the woman recording said. An employee responded, “OK, well, that’s who you support, though, that’s who you love.”
Later in the video, the woman recording added, “What’s embarrassing is that we’re American citizens and I wanted to get a smoothie.”
At one point, an employee said the store had the “right to refuse service,” while the man accompanying her described the service refusal as a “crime.”
The exchange quickly sparked debate on social media, with users divided over whether the employees had the right to refuse service.
“You can be denied service for any reason the retailer decides, it’s that simple, it doesn’t matter if the customer is wearing a Trump or Biden hat,” one user insisted.
Others compared the situation to the infamous Masterpiece Cakeshop case, in which a Colorado bakery owner declined to create a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, a dispute that reached the Supreme Court.
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