A Target Starbucks employee claims she was fired for posting information about an upcoming product launch that had already been circulated on social media.
On April 21, TikTok user Brooke (@gym_cookie) posted a video explaining that she was fired for “releasing information that was not out on the web” about a collaboration between Starbucks and Stanley, a popular food and beverage container brand. The video has received over 77,000 views as of April 26.
@gym_cookie Replying to @clit.eastwoodd I GOT FIRED FROM TARGET….. 😳 #fyp #viral #trending #stanleycup #starbucksbarista #starbucksstanley #target #releasedate #comingsoon #fired #targetemployee ♬ original sound – el mono🙈
This comes after she posted an initial video on April 11 revealing information about the collaboration. In this video, she sought to “clear up some rumors” about the product by sharing images pulled from social media and providing a release date that Starbucks and Target had not formally announced. The video went viral with over 830,000 views.
In the video about her termination, she mentioned that a higher-up found her initial video and an article citing it. Brooke explained that she would understand being fired if she was the first to reveal this information but that the collaboration was “all over the web and TikTok and Twitter and everything” before her video went viral.
The collaboration in question had already been available internationally in select countries but had not yet been released or announced in the U.S.
Brooke posted a follow-up video sharing her feelings on the situation. “Nah target I’ll forever shop with you it’s just the fact that you fired me over a TikTok when other employees have millions of followers that just threw me off,” read the text overlay.
In her initial video about being terminated, users were supportive. “Some girl in the comments of the OG video said that they had already released in Asia so it wasn’t a secret. You shouldn’t have been fired,” one commenter wrote.
“That was not something to get fired over. If anything, you helped boost their sales!” another said.
The Daily Dot contacted Brooke via Facebook Messenger and Starbucks and Target via email for further information.
