Woman embroiled in row with Starbucks manager denies hurling transphobic insults at her

A woman who was filmed arguing with a trans-Starbucks executive has denied calling her a “tranny” or a “man” during the altercation.

Vanessa Thomas was seen on camera being berated by Luna Spain, 28, who claps her face, calls her a ‘Karen’ and throws her out of a Starbucks in Southampton.

A battle of words ensued after Ms Spain claimed she was the victim of a hate crime as Ms Thomas, 55, abused her because she is transgender.

But Ms Thomas hit back, telling MailOnline: ‘These are all vicious lies. I have not abused anyone. I never called her a tranny or a man and if I had I would have deserved to be kicked out of the Starbucks.

“I did nothing to start this argument and it is disgusting what Mrs Spain says about me. She was the only one to swear, she was the only one to be abusive and I’m sick of her saying such things. It’s utter nonsense.’

She added, “I’m not the kind of person who would offend trans people or anyone because I’m just not. I’m tired of being called a liar.”

In an interview with Vice News, Ms. Spain claimed that Ms. Thomas was “rude and abusive” when she was told she could not pay with cash. She insisted that the video of the incident did not tell the whole story as it did not capture the abuse she faced.

Ms Spain said Ms Thomas ‘started to go crazy’ after deliberately misinterpreting a colleague standing next to her and corrected her ‘pronouns’.

Ms Thomas reiterated her earlier claim that the row stemmed from her using the word ‘lady’ to describe a member of staff who served her without realizing they did not identify as a woman.

She said, ‘It’s like I said, because that’s the truth. The trans manager cut me off and all I said was “I’m not talking to you, I’m talking to the lady behind the counter”.

‘That’s when it all started. How was I supposed to know that person didn’t identify as a woman? It was an innocent mistake and I was not offended at all. I am the one who has been the victim of a crime.’

The incident took place on April 30 after Mrs Thomas, who lives on the Isle of Wight, was shopping in Southampton.

As the argument escalated, Ms. Thomas claimed her belongings were thrown into the air by Ms. Spain, who then physically threw her out of the Starbucks and closed the glass front door so hard it shattered.

The incident was filmed by Mrs Thomas’s partner, Mark Andrews. The footage shows Ms. Spain lunging at him as she tries to grab his mobile phone.

Ms Thomas insisted: ‘I am the one who was the victim of a crime because I was verbally and physically abused. And so was my partner, Mark. We both had a terrible experience that left us very shocked.

“I am confident that the full truth will come out once the police have properly investigated this matter.”

Ms Thomas said she has already contacted Hampshire Police to ask if they had recovered CCTV from the Starbucks, which would prove her innocence.

She added: “It’s all on the CCTV footage, it will show that I wasn’t abusive at all. There was only one person who behaved horribly and that was Mrs. Spain. But it’s quite frustrating because the police seem to be moving very slowly on this case.’

Ms Spain insisted that Ms Thomas’s use of the word ‘lady’ was ‘deliberate and hateful’.

She said, ‘She (Mrs. Thomas) said, ‘what is it with you trannies and all this gender stuff’ and ‘it’s always all about gender with you trannies’ – I interrupted her and told her she’s not being served. I asked her to come to the till and get a refund.

But instead she started getting louder and louder. She called me ‘man’ as much as possible and my colleague who is a trans man ‘woman’ in front of a full store of customers and colleagues.’

Explaining her actions in confronting Mr Andrews, Ms Spain said she only wanted the video removed because she did not want to be disgraced online as other transgender people have been in the past.

Ms Spain revealed that she had been fired without formal disciplinary proceedings and had not even had a chance to explain to her bosses what had happened.

She cried, “I’m angry, I’m upset, and I’m experiencing the worst mental health of my life, with the customer laughing about it on Facebook. What do they want me to do? Transition?’

Ms Spain added: ‘I definitely expected disciplinary action, which is what they said would happen, but I didn’t expect to lose my job. It’s like they were trying to do damage control.

“HR suddenly called me and urged me to turn in my notice, and when I didn’t, an hour later I got an email terminating my employment. There was no inquiry, no meeting, just a cold e-mail.’

Ms Spain claimed she had reported Ms Thomas to the police and also demanded an apology letter from her former employers for failing to investigate the matter.

A Starbucks spokesperson said: “We pride ourselves on providing a welcoming and inclusive environment, and we expect everyone, including our green apron partners (employees) and customers, to treat each other with dignity and respect.

‘After an investigation, the permit holder has determined that this partner will be separated from the company.’

Hampshire Police have been contacted for comment.