Woman With Speech Impediment Is Accused of Being Drunk — and Gets Kicked Out of Restaurant
Published June 22 2023, 11:35 a.m. ET
Human decency may very well be at an all-time low.
It’s no secret that the world is full of people from all walks of life. That said, everyone is entitled to basic respect and decency from others.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise that a certain restaurant is currently under fire. In a TikTok video, a woman claims that she was kicked out after being mistakenly accused of being drunk due to a speech impediment. And folks have their pitchforks ready. Here’s the 4-1-1.
In a viral video, a woman with a speech impediment says she was accused of being drunk — and was kicked out of a restaurant.
In a TikTok video that has since gone viral, creator Gina DeStefano (@gig.dee) shared that she was accused of being drunk due to having a speech impediment and was kicked out of a Yard House location.
“@Yard House your employees not only wrongfully accused me, due to my disability, but then continued to harass me after. Please #dobetter and TikTok please find these hurtful people,” the caption reads.
As the video starts, you can see Gina standing outside of a Yard House location in Glenville, Ill.
The text in the video reads, “Yard House Glenview accused me of being drunk, due to my speech impediment, and kicked me out and waved goodbye to me. Please help me find these people.”
“Welcome to North Brook … holy s---,” she says to the camera.
As Gina pans the camera around her surroundings, you see two employees behind the hostess desk waving at the camera.
“Oh my god,” Gina repeatedly says as she realizes what the employees are doing.
TikTok users are sympathetic to Gina and have offered suggestions on how to rectify the situation.
Thankfully, Gina’s predicament has caused the TikTok community to come together. In the comment section, folks are not only offering their support, but they are also offering ways Gina can go about getting any type of public atonement. Some of the commenters say that Gina may have grounds for a lawsuit.
“As someone who works in a restaurant and also has speech impediments, I’m so sorry. People are terrible,” one person commented.
“Don’t accept compensation until you talk to attorneys about a lawsuit for discrimination. If you accept what they offer now, you might [not] be able to sue later,” another person shared.
"Contact local radio and TV stations," someone else suggested.
"They should have been more cautious and careful with how they handled that," wrote another commenter.
Interestingly, in a follow-up video posted on June 20, 2023, Gina shared that Yard House had reached out to her, but she that hadn't received additional contact since providing them with information about the incident.
Gina also shared that she will not discuss the incident any further unless she has a big update and wishes everyone “health and peace.”
Truth be told, the bullying is getting very old. We need to do better.
