Chemist Warehouse called out by Barkaa over alleged racial profiling

A young Indigenous girl has revealed how she considered killing herself after being accused of shoplifting.

Alinta, the daughter of Chloe Quayle, a popular rapper, said she was stopped by a security guard while shopping at a Chemist Warehouse store in Sydney.

“I wanted to buy some makeup and hair products like many other teenage girls probably would, but at the end of my shopping trip a security guard told my mother to get the receipt for the items we bought at the counter.” she said.

‘We complied… until a white shopper was able to leave the store without any problems. My mother immediately pointed this out to me and asked the security guard if he was also going to ask the other customers for a receipt.

She said the guard started threatening to involve the police simply because her mother was filming him.

‘My mother stopped answering and he then accused me of theft. This put me in the spotlight and all eyes were on me,” she continued.

‘I was just portrayed as a criminal. My life started to crumble in those moments as I hyperventilated,” she explained.

She explained that if her mother had not intervened to defend her, she would have let the security guard pet her in the store.

The young girl broke down as she detailed the alleged racial profiling at Chemist Warehouse

“In a desperate attempt to prove my innocence, I dropped my bag and coat on the floor, crying,” she said.

“The sad part about this is that I really believed I had done something wrong. I thought maybe I had a gap in my memory or had accidentally stolen something.

‘My dignity and self-esteem were taken from me in an instant and I spent the rest of my night crying and sobbing.

“I even considered committing suicide because how could I bear living in a world that hated me.”

Alinta said it was her own decision to share her story to raise awareness.

“This has happened to my mother, my grandmother and probably the entire family tree since colonization. Nothing has changed,” she said.

Her mother has demanded that Chemist Warehouse fire the security guard allegedly responsible for the incident.

Ms Quayle was seen crying and comforting her daughter throughout the video

She has demanded that Chemist Warehouse fire the security guard responsible

“The irony of all this is that my daughter also plays soccer for a team whose main sponsor is Chemist Warehouse,” she wrote on Facebook.

“They not only targeted an innocent Blak child and demonized her in the store, but also one of their players.”

She said Chemist Warehouse contacted her about the incident and she provided her lawyer’s details.

“So sick and tired of our babies having to beg and plead for their innocence, so sick and tired of us having to protect our babies from this before they even get a chance to fully understand how racist this country can be .

“I’m so tired of Blak children not being seen in the same light as non-Indigenous children, all because of stereotypes and severe racism.”

In a statement, Chemist Warehouse said it was aware of an incident that had occurred at one of the chain’s NSW stores.

“Under no circumstances will we tolerate the poor treatment of our customers,” it said.

‘We would like to reassure you that the safety and well-being of our customers and employees is our top priority and we understand the distress this incident may have caused to everyone involved.

‘We are discussing further steps with the relevant security contractor.’