Overview

• Kroger confirmed it terminated an associate at a licensed Starbucks inside a Middletown, Ohio Kroger after a customer received a cup labeled “racist’s fav drink.”
• The customer, Autumn Perkins, had ordered Charlie Kirk’s reported favorite drink, a Mint Majesty tea with two honeys, as part of an online memorial trend.
• Starbucks said time-stamped footage from a Norwood Park store in Chicago showed the “loser :)” message was not on the cup when it left the counter and was likely added afterward.
• The Chicago location briefly closed as posts about the cup circulated, and Starbucks emphasized that cup markers are accessible to anyone after handoff.
• Company guidance reiterates that negative or offensive messages on cups violate policy, while staff may write customer names but not political slogans.