The woman whose online complaint about a Starbucks employee resulted in him receiving over $100,000 in donated "tips" has spoken out about her desire to get half the money raised.
Last month, Amber Gilles shared a photo to Facebook which showed young San Diego Starbucks barista Lenin Gutierrez moments after he had allegedly refused to serve Gilles for not wearing a face mask inside the coffee chain.
She accompanied the photo with the caption: "Meet lenen [sic] from Starbucks who refused to serve me cause I’m not wearing a mask. Next time I will wait for cops and bring a medical exemption."
However, the now-deleted post received perhaps the opposite response Gilles was hoping for, as people quickly rallied to support the barista.
In fact, support for Gutierrez grew so much that a person by the name of Matt Cowan set up a GoFundMe account for the barista, in an effort to raise "tips" for the young employee.
The fundraiser, called 'Tips for Lenin Standing Up To A San Diego Karen', has already amassed over $105,000 in donations (as of this writing).
Lenin has revealed that he plans to use the money raised to further his education and also follow his dreams of dancing.
In addition, Gutierrez has also taken to Facebook to explain his side of the story.
The barista revealed that he had been assigned to the front register the day that a mask-less Gilles came in.
However, after Gutierrez asked Gilles if she had a face mask, he says that she responded by saying: "No, I don't need one," and before the barista could explain to her the company's policy, she started "cursing up a storm" and calling people "sheep".
Gutierrez then says that Gilles stormed out of the chain, before coming back in, asking for his name, threatening to call corporate, and cursing some more.
Now, Gilles has spoken with Fox4 News to reveal that she is planning on taking legal action and that she wants half the money raised.
Gilles told the station: "It was discrimination and everybody is OK with it and enabling and rewarding that behavior."
She went on to describe the multiple symptoms she experiences if she does wear a mask, saying:
"One of them I get shortness of breath, dizziness and it messes with the heartbeat. And I do have asthma as well, and I do get mask-acne. So there’s several things going on and not only that but it doesn’t even work."
Gilles also provided KGTV with two documents that claim to "prove" her medical exemption.
One is the results of a pelvic exam from 2015 that lists a "probable exophytic fibroid arising from the anterior wall of the uterus measuring 2.9 cm size," and "simple 2.5 cm left ovarian cyst".
The second is a handwritten note with a letterhead from a San Diego chiropractor - who Gilles has asked not to be named.
The handwritten note reads: "Amber has underlying breath conditions that prevent her from wearing a mask or any type of facial covering whatsoever. Please contact me if have any questions."
However, Fox4 reports that when the chiropractor who wrote the note was called, he said he could not discuss her situation.
And when Gilles was asked why a chiropractor would provide her a note related to a breathing-related medical exemption, she responded by saying: "because they are dedicated to providing non-invasive personalized care and treatment. They are real doctors."
Enjoy this video of Lenin receiving his $100,000:Gilles was also asked if she would like to apologize, to which she responded by saying: "No absolutely not. I feel like I need the apology. I've been discriminated against, I'm the one who's sick."
She also revealed that she has spoken to several lawyers about taking her case for getting half of Gutierrez's money, but said they're all so expensive that she has been forced to start her own GoFundMe in an effort to try and raise funds.
