Woman Says It Is Discrimination To Ask Her Not To Film TikToks At A Local Coffee Shop
She claims that the owners are "jealous" of her.
nortonrsx / Canva Pro Adrielle Sigler is an influencer whose job involves posting daily videos to TikTok, and she made it a habit to film in her favorite local coffee shop. Unfortunately for her, the owners of the cafe are trying to put a stop to it.
Sigler, however, did not take kindly to her favorite TikTok "set" taking exception to her videos and wants justice for what she claimed was discrimination.
The owners of a coffee shop asked an influencer to stop filming inside their business.
In a TikTok video, Sigler explained a situation that occurred while she was at her local coffee shop. While recording herself, she was approached by the shop's two owners who she claimed prohibited her from filming any longer.
“You can come in here as a customer, but no more filming," Sigler recounted they told her.
Sigler argued that in addition to the business having no signs or policy notices indicating electronics were not allowed, she was always careful to crop other patrons out of her shots. She even shared a clip that featured her raving about the cafe as evidence that she was not hurting their business in some way.
The owners, however, insisted that she was distracting others who were trying to work peacefully.
Incredulous, Sigler stated, “I am doing what every other customer is doing in their place of business."
Confident that she was not a distraction, Sigler made the claim that the owners were simply jealous of her internet fame, and she vowed not to let the incident go.
Sigler decided to file 2 lawsuits against the coffee shop for discrimination.
After speaking with a lawyer about the incident, she claimed she has good standing for a case against the owners, and has every intention of taking them to court.
Sigler argued, “If a businessman is allowed to have his camera on while he’s working, it’s fair for a businesswoman to have her camera on while she is working.”
It certainly begs the question, is taking a Zoom call during a coffee break the same as an influencer filming a video for their brand? To the untrained eye, the waters seem murky, but then again, with only one side of the story, the details are murky as well.
The distinction could be as simple as a quiet video conference in the corner of the shop on headphones versus Sigler loudly sharing the details of her day with a variety of camera equipment in tow.
Sigler offered the coffee shop owners an opportunity to end the legal battle.
Although she claimed to be mortified over the incident, Sigler offered an olive branch of sorts to the coffee shop owners, but really, it seemed more like an unethical means to get what she wanted.
She said she would be willing to drop the lawsuits and her online campaign against the cafe if they wrote her an apology that read, “Adrielle, we are sorry we publicly humiliated you and singled you out in the general public, and we are sorry that we didn’t have a sign up that said ‘no cameras’. Yet, we decided to single you out and create one rule for you. We see now that it is not fair to apply a rule to just one customer and not all customers. Here’s a gift certificate for the coffee we know you like. Thank you for your business.”
Sigler's fake compromise doesn't exactly do her any favors, however. Instead, it seems more like a last-ditch effort to save face in a situation that she will not be the victor in.
Unsurprisingly, the owners have yet to respond.
Sigler should find a place to film that is more receptive to her needs.
The question still lingers as to why the owners of the shop confronted Sigler about her recording, but it's highly likely that they were simply responding to other patron's complaints. When customer service is paramount to a business's success, multiple customer complaints cannot be ignored.
Instead of creating a mountain out of a molehill, Sigler should look for another filming location, but if she chooses another business as her set she should speak with the owners first to make sure their needs align. A business that prioritizes social media marketing, especially during low-traffic times would be ideal.
Lauren Reams is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news.