MIDDLETOWN, OH — A disturbing incident at a Starbucks inside a Kroger grocery store has stirred outrage after a customer seeking to honor the late conservative icon Charlie Kirk was met with a vile message written on her drink cup.

Autumn Perkins, a resident of Middletown, Ohio, ordered a Mint Majesty tea with two honeys—Charlie Kirk’s well-known favorite drink—on Sunday evening. She requested the drink in Kirk’s name as a tribute on the very day hundreds of thousands across the country were tuning in to his public memorial service in Arizona. The event featured eulogies from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Kirk’s wife Erika, all mourning the assassination of the conservative leader on September 10.

But instead of receiving a respectful gesture, Perkins was appalled to find the words “racist’s fav drink” scribbled on the side of her cup.

“I feel like Charlie stood for respect—we don’t have to agree on everything. We can disagree on a lot of things, but we respect each other,” Perkins told Fox News. “It’s time for people to stop this nonsense.”

Perkins immediately took her concerns to the store’s manager. According to her, the Starbucks supervisor, operating under the Kroger license, acknowledged that the barista responsible had admitted to writing the message and was terminated from their position as a result.

“People should be fired if they’re doing something like this,” Perkins added. “This wasn’t just a mistake—it was deliberate, and it was hateful.”

In response, both Starbucks and Kroger issued statements distancing themselves from the employee’s actions. A Starbucks spokesperson confirmed that the store violated company policy: “There are clear policies that prohibit negative or offensive messages to help preserve a welcoming environment. This Starbucks location is licensed and operated by Kroger. We understand that this associate was terminated by Kroger.”

A Kroger spokesperson also weighed in: “This associate’s actions do not reflect Kroger’s values.”

Despite the quick response, the damage seems done for Perkins, who says she will no longer spend her money at Starbucks and is encouraging her children and family to follow suit.

“I don’t care if they fired the employee,” she said. “This kind of culture doesn’t start and end with one barista. It’s deeper than that.”

The incident is the latest in a series of tensions between Starbucks employees and customers honoring Charlie Kirk since his assassination. As conservatives across the country began ordering his signature drink and requesting his name on their cups, some Starbucks employees reportedly refused to accommodate the request, citing “political” content.

One viral TikTok video from a California store showed a barista refusing to write “Charlie Kirk” on a cup, insisting that Starbucks does not allow political names. After mounting backlash, Starbucks issued an internal clarification: customers are allowed to use names like “Charlie Kirk” on orders, provided they are not using political slogans or profane language.

“Over the years, we have had instances where some people have tried to abuse the system,” Starbucks said in a statement. “They’ve provided something that isn’t a name at all, but rather a political slogan with the aim of having our barista shout it out… We aim to be a community coffeehouse where everyone feels welcome.”

But critics argue that this “welcoming environment” often excludes conservative voices.

“This isn’t about policy—it’s about bias,” one X user wrote. “If a liberal figure’s name had been written on a cup, would a barista dare write ‘racist’s fav’? Of course not.”